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Following the accidental death of her deaf father, Dot, an orphaned teenager who is also deaf-mute, is sent to live in Connecticut with her godparents, Paul and Olivia Deer, and their teenaged daughter, Nina. Dot and Nina had been friends in childhood, before Dot lost her hearing as a result of a medical condition. The aloof Nina resents Dot's presence in the home and insults her repeatedly. Meanwhile, Dot observes that Olivia, an unfulfilled interior designer who was close friends with Dot's mother, is an alcoholic with a prescription drug addiction. Late one night, while returning to her bedroom, Dot observes Paul and Nina having sex in Nina's bedroom, unbeknownst to them. It becomes clear that Nina and Paul have had a years-long incestuous relationship, which Nina uses as leverage against her father to get whatever she wants. At school, Dot is a social outcast, though Connor, a basketball player, takes an interest in her, much to the chagrin of Nina's abrasive friend, Michelle, who is pursuing him. One afternoon, Nina returns home early from cheerleading practice and overhears Dot playing Beethoven on the family's piano. When one of the strings breaks, Nina hears Dot swear loudly, before vocally harmonizing with the strings as she tunes them. Realizing Dot is neither deaf nor mute, Nina withholds her knowledge of this. At lunch the next day, acting under the guise that Dot cannot hear, Nina assays her by confessing her hatred of her father, and details her plan to murder him. That evening, Dot goes on a date with Connor, who is able to communicate with her by lip reading. Dot returns home to find Paul and Nina in bed together, and deliberately breaks a vase in the hallway, interrupting their rendezvous; Nina realizes the action signifies Dot's alliance with her. Later, Dot comforts Nina in her bedroom as she cries herself to sleep. The following night, after a basketball game, Connor confides numerous personal secrets in Dot, including his attention deficit disorder and his chronic masturbation. The two proceed to have sex in the school swimming pool. Meanwhile, Nina returns home from the game and is visited by Paul in her bedroom while she irons her cheerleading uniform. Mustering the courage to proceed with the murder, Nina tells him to close his eyes, and that she has a secret to show him; she proceeds to approach him with the hot iron to burn his face, but is interrupted when Dot returns home. Nina puts the iron down, and instead lies to her father that she is pregnant and needs a thousand dollars for an abortion. He agrees to give Nina the money the next day. Nina and Dot prepare to attend the school's spring dance the following night. While getting ready, Nina tells Dot she is going to kill Paul that night and run away with the abortion money he is giving her. She explains that she will find work as a stripper, believing she can become famous "like Courtney Love." Before the girls depart for the dance, Paul confronts Nina after finding tampons in her purse, and accuses her of lying about the pregnancy. Meanwhile, Dot, who is playing "Moonlight Sonata" downstairs, hears the argument. The confrontation becomes violent, and eventually descends into a rape before Dot comes to Nina's defense, strangling Paul to death with a piano wire. Olivia, in a drug- induced stupor, stumbles upon the scene, unfazed by her husband's corpse, but amazed by the revelation that Dot can hear. Michelle arrives at the house to pick Nina and Dot up. The two quickly change their dresses, which are soaked in blood, and leave. At the dance, Dot reveals to Connor that she can hear and speak; angered by her deception, he storms away. Nina and Dot leave the dance, and walk to a riverbank in the woods, where they bury a backpack containing their blood-soaked clothing. Nina asks Dot why she pretended to be deaf and mute. Dot explains that, after her mother died during her childhood, she stopped speaking and began communicating only with sign language, as it made her feel closer to her father. When the girls return home, they find police cars at the house, and Olivia turning herself in for Paul's murder. Olivia apologizes to her daughter, and atones for having allowed Paul's sexual abuse of Nina go ignored. The following morning, Nina and Dot sit together and play piano, freed from Paul. 

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The film opens as Rose is found drifting alone in a small rowboat. Two fishermen find it and pull her onto their own boat, barely alive and in a horrible state. Her voiceover indicates she had been rescued from some terrifying experience and the film's events are flashbacks of it. Young and pretty, Rose is part of a group of tourists on a small commercial boat run by a crusty old captain and his handsome mate, Keith. Also on board are Dobbs, who is the boat's cook; Chuck, another tourist; and a bickering married couple named Norman and Beverly. After trouble with the engine, the navigation system goes haywire when they encounter a strange orange haze. The others sense that something is wrong. Norman in particular becomes abrasive. In the darkness of night, a hulking ship suddenly appears and sideswipes their boat. The Captain sends up a flare, which momentarily lights up the eerie sight of a huge, rotting vessel wrecked nearby. The next morning, everyone wakes to find the Captain missing. Realizing the boat is slowly taking on water, everyone evacuates in the lifeboat and makes for a nearby island. They see the huge wreck in the light of day; it appears to have been there for decades, nothing more than a skeletal framework, and now seemingly immobile, stranded on the island's reef. The group is startled to find the body of the Captain, apparently drowned while he was trying to check the underside of the boat for damage. They explore the island and discover a large, rundown hotel. At first they think it is deserted, but they discover a reclusive old man living there. The man seems alarmed by their story, and he goes down to the beach to personally investigate. Under the water, strange zombie-like men gather, walking from the wreck along the ocean floor to the island. As Dobbs gathers items to help prepare food, the zombies corner him in the water and one of them attacks; before it kills him, Dobbs falls in a cluster of sea urchins and is horribly mangled. Rose discovers his body while swimming. Back inside the hotel, their reluctant host tells them that he was a Nazi commander in charge of the "Death Corps", a group of aquatic zombies. The creatures were intended to be a powerful weapon for the Nazis, but they proved too difficult to control. When Germany lost the war, he sank their ship. Knowing the zombies have returned, he says they are doomed. The Commander goes down to the beach again and sees a few of the zombies off in the distance; they refuse to obey and drown him. The others locate a boat that the Commander told them about and pilot it out through the streams to the open water. They lose control of the boat, and it sails away from them, empty. A zombie drowns Norman in a stream, and another chases Rose back to the hotel, where she kills it by pulling off its goggles. Chuck, Beverly, and Keith return to the hotel, and they barricade themselves in the refrigerator unit. The close quarters and stress cause the survivors to begin infighting, and Chuck accidentally fires a flare gun, blinding Beverly. Keith and Rose escape to an old furnace room, where they hide inside two metal grates, while Beverly hides in a closet. The zombies drown Chuck in a swimming pool outside. The next morning, Keith and Rose discover Beverly dead, drowned in a large fish tank. Now on their own, they try to escape in a small sightseeing rowboat with a glass bottom. The zombies attack, and although Keith manages to defeat one by pulling off its goggles, a second one grabs him and drowns him just as the dinghy breaches the reef and drifts free. Rose sees Keith's lifeless body pressed up against the glass bottom of the boat and screams. The film comes full circle, and Rose's voiceover returns. She is now in a hospital bed, seemingly writing in a journal. Her dialogue begins to repeat itself over and over, and she is revealed to be writing nonsense in her journal, showing that she has gone insane. 

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Connie Dickason is the strong-willed daughter of a ranch owner, who is under the control of powerful local cattleman Frank Ivey, a man her father once wanted Connie to marry. Connie instead takes up with a sheep rancher who is run out of town by Ivey. She inherits the man's land. The conniving and manipulative Connie persuades ranch hand Dave Nash to be her "ramrod," or ranch foreman. He recruits an old pal, Bill Schell, who bends the law to his own purposes now and then but is fiercely loyal to Dave, to come help him run the ranch and fend off the ruthless Ivey. Rose Leland is in love with Dave and he feels great affection toward her. Connie seduces both Dave and Bill to do her bidding, however. She even persuades Bill to stampede her own cattle, without Dave's knowledge, just so Ivey will appear guilty to the law. Sheriff Jim Crew goes to arrest Ivey and is shot down in cold blood. Dave is ambushed by a couple of Ivey's men. He kills one of them, Red Cates, but is badly wounded. Bill hides him, but Connie carelessly exposes their hideout. Bill volunteers to distract Ivey and his men while Dave turns to Rose for shelter. Ivey hunts down Bill in the mountains and shoots him in the back. Dave has had enough. He confronts Ivey in the street, armed with only a shotgun, but beats him to the draw. Connie is delighted. At last, she has her land and her man. Dave, though, wants nothing more to do with her, returning to Rose's arms. 

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The Ninja Turtles (Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello) are on a mission to retrieve the Life Transformer Gun from Shredder, a device that could restore their sensei Splinter back to his human form. The Turtles' first objective is to rescue their reporter friend April O'Neil, who is being held captive by Bebop and Rocksteady somewhere in the city. After rescuing April, the turtles must swim underwater to disarm a series of bombs set to destroy a dam, rescue Splinter from the Mecha Turtle, destroy a giant Mouser, find the Technodrome and eventually defeat Shredder. 

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Chow plays a naive young kung fu student, who leaves his rural home on a small island to find his fortune in Hong Kong under the dubious guidance of his uncle (Bryan Leung), who cons him into using his natural skills as a snooker player for the uncle's financial gain. The film also stars real world six-time world snooker finalist Jimmy White as Chow's final opponent. 

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In November 1903, young women are being killed in London, each with a silk stocking stuffed down her throat. Watson seeks help from the retired and disenchanted Holmes, who determines that the victims are well-born ladies, not prostitutes. Evidence found includes a thumbprint, a pair of ladies' dancing shoes, broken glass, a strong smell of chloroform and a silk stocking removed from a victim's gullet. It seems that the killer has a foot fetish. Holmes interrogates a survivor - a young girl who was apparently set free by her captor because she has a club foot - and arranges for her to "accidentally" see the footman that he suspects is the killer, despite his ironclad alibis. The girl identifies him as her kidnapper, but the thumbprint clears the suspect. Holmes then baits a trap for the killer: he uses the sister of a victim and has her perform in a classical tableau at an event attended by the King and Queen. Her Grecian-Roman costume is revealing, and her sandals expose her feet. After the performance, she walks away to be alone; the suspect drugs her and is quickly caught by Holmes and placed in custody. The sister returns home and is tucked into bed by her father. However, the suspect's thumbprint doesn't match the evidence. Holmes suspects the killer has an identical twin, and that the real killer is still on the loose. Holmes telephones the father of the "bait" sister to warn him, but the real killer has kidnapped her from her bed just minutes earlier. The audience sees the killer carrying her over his shoulder as blood drips from her face, where he cut her with broken glass. The police force the other twin to lead them to his brother, but he escapes the police. Holmes finds the killer and his victim just in time; the young woman has a silk stocking tied around her neck, and Watson has to cut it and perform something that looks like CPR. Holmes gets the killer twin to confess that he wanted his victims' attention, because they looked at him while in captivity. Both twins are then taken into custody. At the end, Watson marries his fiancée, Jenny Vandeleur an American psychoanalyst who had aided in the investigation and leaves on honeymoon, and Holmes is left sitting alone at the table. 

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When Mr. Okamura is hospitalized for a hernia, a young Japanese businessman named Mr. Wada is sent as his replacement to assess a vein of jade in a remote village in Yunnan, China. His Chinese guide Mr. Shen does not speak English well but can speak Japanese. A member of the yakuza named Ujiie tells Mr. Wada that his company owes the yakuza money and he forces Mr. Wada to take him along to repay the debt in precious stones. They encounter a Japanese researcher who has found carvings of bird people throughout Japan and seeks to find more in Yunnan, which he believes is the origin of Japanese culture. After losing their belongings and documents in a storm, they eventually find the village. They encounter a woman with blue eyes who teaches a school for flying as bird people based on diagrams in documents left by her grandfather, a Royal Air Force pilot who crashed near the village many years earlier. The documents are an English translation of an ancient book in an unusual dialect that her grandfather found near the village and Mr. Wada translates them from English into Japanese at the request of Ujiie. Mr. Wada finds jade and the villagers are excited that this will bring electricity and tourism to their village but Ujiie fears that this will also bring the difficulties of the modern world, including crime, to the remote village. He kills the tortoises being used to pull their raft, then threatens to shoot Mr. Wada, Mr. Shen, and the ferryman in order to prevent modern civilization from exploiting the village. Mr. Wada convinces him to try to fly using the artificial wings from the school but they both crash. In the following years, Ujiie becomes the village development advisor while Mr. Wada returns to Japan and raises a family. 

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Robotboy is the latest creation of the world-renowned scientist Professor Moshimo. Due to fears that Robotboy would be stolen by his arch-enemy Dr. Kamikazi and his main henchman Constantine to be used to take over the world, Professor Moshimo entrusts Robotboy to 10-year-old Tommy Turnbull, his biggest fan living in San Francisco. While being protected by Tommy and his two friends Lola and Gus (or "G-Man" as he calls himself), Robotboy learns how to behave and act as if he were a real boy while occasionally battling Dr. Kamikazi and Constantine who sought out to capture him. 

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Ozaki (Aikawa), a mentally unstable yakuza, kills a chihuahua outside a restaurant after becoming convinced that it is actually an attack dog trained to kill gangsters. Seeing Ozaki as a security risk, the head of the Azamawari yakuza clan (Ishibashi) orders fellow underling Minami (Sone) to kill him and dispose of his body in a company depot. Minami, reluctant to murder Ozaki, unwittingly kills him when he pushes him to the ground in an attempt to stop him from killing an innocent (but weird) woman who he mistook for an assassin. After finding the road he was driving along mysteriously replaced with a large lake, he enters a coffee shop to find a phone. Minami is given a complimentary meal that makes him violently throw up in the bathroom and returns to discover that Ozaki's body is missing. When he asks the people in the town, he finds most of them apprehensive and uncooperative. He then sets out to explore the nearly- deserted, run-down suburb of Nagoya in a desperate attempt to recover the body, only to find himself caught in a series of increasingly surreal situations. He meets several strange characters including an elderly innkeeper obsessed with her breast milk, her strange brother who can supposedly channel spirits, a waiter who died three years ago in a car accident and gozu or a man with a cow's head, who appears to him in a dream. Minami tracks Ozaki to a junk yard, where he is told that he was murdered and turned into a skin suit. He returns to his car to find a girl (Yoshino) who claims to be Ozaki. After sharing intimate details of their life, as well as one of his dreams, he believes her. After attempting to convince the head of the Azamawari clan that the woman is Ozaki, he is berated and dismissed. The elderly head of the clan invites the woman home and tries to have sex with her, but Minami arrives and kills him. After the woman repeatedly tries to convince Minami to have sex with her, he agrees, only for his penis to become stuck inside of her. After freeing himself, he finds a hand sticking out of her, and she gives birth to a shocked, fully-grown Ozaki, becoming withered and old in the process. The two give her a bath and she returns to normal. The three of them happily walk down the street as one of the residents of Nagoya is seen laughing. 

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Mary Audrey can't stand gambling. Her grandfather, William, whom she calls "Gramps," is a compulsive gambler. Mary puts him to work in her Beverly Hills book store to keep him away from his bad habit. A professional gambler, Larry Scott, places a $200 wager with Gramps, who can't pay up when Larry's horse wins. Larry falls for Mary, however, woos and weds her, then takes her for a Las Vegas honeymoon without revealing his real profession. Mary discovers the truth and angrily arranges a quick divorce. Sacramento Sam, gambler pal of Larry's, hatches a scheme with the casino's help. Mary will be permitted to win $500 gambling by the house, with Larry and Sam secretly covering the bet. Maybe she won't hate gambling so much this way. It works, but too well. Mary begins genuinely winning and won't quit. Larry and Sam go broke covering her bets. Larry returns to Beverly Hills, where he finds Gramps running a bookie operation out of the book store. They go back to Vegas and have everything riding on one last game of poker, which Gramps loses deliberately so Larry can win the money and Mary's heart. 

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In the year 2199, a new order, Satania, is ruling the world. This was caused in the beginning of the 21st century, when the Third World, under the name of "Batallón de la Cochambre", made a revolution called "la guerra del hambre" (the war of hunger). This made the world's dominant powers to use all their bacteriological and nuclear arsenals, causing the destruction of all animal and plant life, but not destroying all humanity. A selected group of corporate leaders, politicians and computer programmers, organized by the enigmatic figure of "elmaestro.com", created Satania, a world without violence, revolutions or the right of the people to think by themselves to create another option. Years passed in a world where reading was forbidden, sex was practiced in the "clean way" (virtually), oxygen was rationed, and society was slowly falling on itself. In Necropolis, the official capital of Satania, a group of "doubters" (people who were not conformed with digital life and with an automatic society) began the search of another way of life, based more on the spiritual ways, and running away from the advances that will lead to the destruction of the Earth. Bribing the biggest hacker in the zone, "alamierda.es" (toshit.es), with oxygen credit cards and the most powerful hallucinating drug that ever existed (which is, a video of notable moments of a game show), they search in the hard drive of "elmaestro.com" (themaster.com) for the reason why humanity reached that point. They find a CD-ROM that narrates the story of Diego Cortéz, a swordsman that protects an enigmatic pilgrim from Puente La Reina to Santiago de Compostela, known to be the pilgrimage of the Way of St. James and they both make a long voyage of self-discovery. When they finally reach Santiago de Compostela the pilgrim kills Diego, after revealing he is Astaroth (the Devil). He then goes to the nearby church. To close the agreement, the Devil leaves a CD-ROM with an inscription on it, "You are in Satania, this is the end of the road!". 

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At the start of the movie, the young and handsome Kanō Sōzaburō (Ryuhei Matsuda) is admitted to the Shinsengumi, an elite samurai group led by Kondō Isami (Yoichi Sai) that seeks to defend the Tokugawa shogunate against reformist forces. He is a very skilled swordsman, but it is his appearance that makes many of the others in the (strictly male) group, both students and superiors, attracted to him, creating tension within the group of people vying for Kanō's affections. 

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Edmund and Terry find the entrance through the Twin Rock, where a long escalator descends into the bowels of the earth. The underground region is illuminated by large balloons filled with a blue, dazzling gas, which float in the underground sky. At the bottom of the escalator a narrow quay, Surface-by-the-Sea, borders a large gulf. Edmund and Terry are separated here. Edmund is taken to Fattyborough, the capital of the Fattypuff kingdom, on the ship Fattiport, while Terry is ordered to board the steel vessel Thiniport for Thiniville, capital of the Thinifer Republic. Edmund soon assumes an important position in the administration of Fattypuff, whose inhabitants are friendly, happy, and who live only for drinking and eating. Everything there is round and cushioned; the architecture is domes and baroque. Terry also rises through the ranks quickly in the land of the Thinifers, workaholics all, who scarcely eat, and who rush to and from their country, which is all high, sharp spires and thin railway cars. For centuries Fattypuffs and Thinifers have been mortal enemies, having fought one another already in the War of the Captive Armies. Their main source of tension lies over ownership of an island in the gulf that separates the countries, and what to call it - the Fattypuffs prefer "Fattyfer," the Thinifers "Thinipuff." Negotiations, in which Edmund and Terry participate, are unsuccessful, and the countries go to war. The Thinifers emerge as the victors, and annex the Fattypuff kingdom. The consequences of this annexation are unexpected. Many soldiers of the occupying army of the Thinifers begin to marry Fattypuff girls, and return to their homeland with affection for the country that they conquered. The Thinifers begin to adopt Fattypuff cuisine, habits, and attitudes. Consequently, the Thinifer president proclaims that the two peoples form a new nation, the United States of the Underground. King Plumpapuff of the Fattypuffs is made constitutional sovereign, while the Thinifer president is made his chancellor. All distinctions by weight are abolished. A toponymic compromise is reached: the island of Fattyfer-Thinipuff is called Peachblossom Island. Edmund and Terry are allowed to return home, where their father has been looking for them at the base of the Twin Rock. They spent ten months underground, but only an hour has passed on the surface. 

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The novel takes place in a prison and relates the final twenty days of Cincinnatus C., a citizen of a fictitious country, who is imprisoned and sentenced to death for "gnostical turpitude." Unable to blend in and become part of the world around him, Cincinnatus is described as having a "certain peculiarity" that makes him "impervious to the rays of others, and therefore produced when off his guard a bizarre impression, as of a lone dark obstacle in this world of souls transparent to one another." Although he tries to hide his condition and "feign translucence," people are uncomfortable with his existence, and feel there is something wrong with him. In this way, Cincinnatus fails to become part of his society. While confined, Cincinnatus is not told when his execution will occur. This troubles him, as he wants to express himself through writing "in defiance of all the world's muteness," but feels unable to do so without knowledge of how long he has to complete this task. Indifferent to the absurdity and vulgarity around him, Cincinnatus strives to find his true self in his writing, where he creates an ideal world. Taken to be executed, he refuses to believe in either death or his executioners, and as the axe falls the false existence dissolves around him as he joins the spirits of his fellow visionaries in "reality." 

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"Links" are the common monsters from folklore and mythology (except vampires, whose existence is specifically identified as preposterous), and are described as being the missing link between apes and humans (although other human-like species have evolved, for instance gargoyles, who are identified as humanoid descendants of dinosaurs). They live in hiding and/or disguise among the human population. On occasions when Links are seen by humans, they are usually dismissed as hallucinations or optical illusions, except by those who are especially perceptive. Special Unit 2 is the top- secret division of the Chicago police specifically designated to handle Link- related cases. Other units of the police department are specifically ordered to stay out of Special Unit 2's way, which provides a great deal of leeway and access for cases. Detective Nick O'Malley (Michael Landes) and his newly assigned partner, Detective Kate Benson (Alexondra Lee), are the two central characters. Nick is a maverick veteran in Special Unit 2. His initially callous, jaded and at times cruel demeanor is revealed to be a result of guilt over the loss of his previous partner; Julie. A criminal called The Chameleon cut her up into "600 inch-sized cubes". (It would later be revealed that Nick and Julie were having a secret affair.) Kate is one of the rare individuals who acknowledge the existence of Links instead of finding a more acceptable (albeit incorrect) explanation for the traditionally unexplained phenomena that they cause. Her refusal to deny her observations jeopardizes her career as a police officer and estranges her from her fellow officers. Kate's tenacity and conviction leads to her recruitment by Special Unit 2. Supporting characters include Captain Richard Page (Richard Gant), SU2's commanding officer with a prosthetic metal hand that serves as the focus of running gags. The unit's liaison with the Link community is Carl (Danny Woodburn), a verbally aggressive gnome known for kleptomania and armed robbery, who is mutually antagonistic towards Nick. Nick and Carl's love-hate relationship contributes some of the humor within the fantasy universe of the show. Carl is completely invincible to everything but a diamond-coated saw and dragon fire/teeth. Other members of the unit are the technical experts, who provide background, research and technology on various Links. Initially the primary technician is the acerbic Link biologist Sean Radmon (Sean Whalen), succeeded in Season 2 by Jonathan (Jonathan Togo), SU2's obsessively enthusiastic technician who analyzes Link evidence and produces a seemingly endless stream of Link-related inventions with positive glee. Another recurring character introduced in Season 2, is Alice Cramer (Pauley Perrette), who is the Unit's public relations person and acts to convince the press and witnesses that the crimes and strange events committed by Links are merely toxic spills, mass hallucinations, drugged out street gangers, etc. Another recurring character is Jerry (Mike Rad), someone who drifts from job to job and occasionally encounters Links. (For example, in the first episode, Carl attempted to stick him up at the store where he was working.) The unit further maintains secrecy by hiding the physical location of the unit's headquarters behind the facade of a Chinese laundry. The detectives drive unmarked cars and utilize sophisticated weaponry and technology to deal with Link threats. A partial list of Links encountered by SU2 in the course of the episodes include a trash-talking Gargoyle, the scheming Pied Piper posing as a children's television host, the homicidal Sandman, Jack The Ripper and deadly snake- haired Medusa, all revealed to be criminals in these particular cases. Most of the monsters are portrayed as behaving rather human-like, forming urban communities. 

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Former actor Bill Williams (Tom Arnold) is about to commit suicide over his ruined career. He throws out all his stuff and gives his clothes to a homeless man. The man drinks Bill's vodka and takes half of his pills messing up his suicide plan and takes off. Bill drinks his alcohol and then takes the remaining pills. He then lies down in the bathtub. Three days later an eccentric film agent named Johnny Bernstein (Henry Winkler) shows up at the apartment with a business offer for him. He says a billionaire, Davis Roman (Joe Mantegna), will hire Bill to write and co-star in a movie exactly like 1994's True Lies so that his son, Aaron Roman (Eric Gores), whose favorite film is True Lies, can live out his dream of being an actor and star of an action movie. Not knowing much about the boy or the billionaire, Bill agrees to do the project since he would make considerable profits. Later at the park, Bill encounters the man previously in his apartment. His name is Guy Prince (Richard Edson), and he hasn't had a job in over 10 years. Bill finds he has a lot in common with Guy and asks him if he's interested in acting. Guy agrees and he becomes Bill's unconventional "best friend". Johnny, Bill, and Guy later show up at the lavish Roman mansion, meeting with Davis and his wife, Shelby (Shannon Elizabeth). As they are a nice couple, Bill thinks they have a nice, normal son. However, when Aaron shows up, Bill becomes uncomfortable and assumes he will be making a bad film with a mentally impaired person. He attempts to back out of the offer when his ex-wife, producer Susan Mandeville (Linda Hamilton), comes in with a film crew and tells everybody she will be producing the movie. Shortly after she shows up, Davis tells Bill about how smart and dedicated Aaron is despite having cerebral palsy. Bill, remembering the money he will receive, agrees again to make the movie. Aaron, very excited to see Bill in person, tells him about his interesting movie ideas as they begin to write the script. Although some of Aaron's ideas are unrealistic, Bill becomes confident they will be able to shoot the movie, which Aaron decides to call Two Spies. Guy is enjoying himself as well as he flirts with the local women and spends time drinking all the Roman's booze. When Aaron tells Bill he wants to kiss a beautiful woman while in a hot tub for the closing scene, Bill agrees. 

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Julian was the last direct relative of Constantine the Great to take up the purple, his father being Constantine's half-brother. As emperor, he attempted to destroy the influence of the Christian church. His goals were to bring back firstly the worship of the old Roman pantheon, secondly other religions including Judaism (he attempts to restore the Jewish Temple), and thirdly - with special emphasis upon the growing crisis on Rome's frontiers - Mithraism, a mystery religion that had been popular among Roman soldiers. The book takes the form of the correspondence between two Hellenistic pagans, Libanius, who is considering writing a biography of Julian, and Priscus, who possesses Julian's personal memoir. Christianity has, by this stage, become the official religion of the Roman Empire (as decreed by the emperor Theodosius), with rioting and inquisition causing extreme violence between traditionalists and Christians, and even between Christian sects. Only thirty years after the novel took place, the city of Rome would be sacked by the Goths. The memoir relates Julian's life from the time so many members of his family were purged by his cousin, the emperor Constantius II (whom he succeeded on the throne), his "exile" to libraries as a child, and his subsequent negative childhood experiences with Christian hypocrisy and conflict over dogma (see Arianism). As he matures, a rift forms between Julian and his disturbed half-brother Constantius Gallus, who is made Caesar (heir to the purple) by Constantius II; Julian claims, for his safety, to have no interest but philosophy, so he undertakes a journey to Athens to study under the city's greatest teachers. Here, he first sees Libanius, the book's narrator, and has an affair with a female philosopher, Macrina. He also comes to know some of the early Church Fathers in their formative years, including the agreeable Basil of Caesarea and the abrasive and dishonest Gregory of Nazianzus. Julian becomes a lector, a minor office in the Christian church, but he continues to learn about the traditional religions: he studies Neoplatonism in Asia Minor under Aedesius, and is initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries in Athens (which he would later try to restore). Julian is eventually made Caesar in place of Gallus, who was executed by Constantius II for cruelty, debauchery, and to satisfy Constantius's legendary insecurity and paranoia. This leaves Julian the successor to Constantius II, and he is given (at first nominal) command of Gaul, under attack by the Alamanni. Subsequently, Julian seizes hands-on military and administrative control from his 'advisors,' and, against expectations, experiences overwhelming military success over the Germans at Strasbourg. Upon the death of Helena, Julian's wife and Constantius's sister, and in the face of Constantius's ever-increasing manic paranoia, Julian undertakes a short rebellion against Constantius, which ends bloodlessly, with Constantius's natural death during the journey to confront Julian, and Julian's accession to the title of Augustus. Julian's early reign is successful, with the removal from office of court eunuchs, whose true role Julian sees as being to drag on the state coffers and to isolate the emperors from real-world concerns. He also undertakes attempts to prevent the spread of Christianity; referring to the religion throughout the novel as 'back-country' and a 'death-cult' (and churches as 'charnel-houses', for their reverence of relics), Julian sees the best means to do this as to block Christians from teaching classical literature, thus relegating their religion to non- intellectual audiences and thwarting attempts by Christians to develop the sophisticated rhetoric and intellectualism of traditional Roman and Hellenistic religions. Here, Julian's headstrong nature begins to affect his ability to know his own capabilities, evident in several clashes with the Trinitarian clergy and with advisors. Nonetheless, Julian takes the opportunity to outline his arguments against Christianity, and to lay out his vision for reforming and restoring Roman civic life. His reforms are under way when, in spite of his own faith in prophecy, Julian undertakes an ill-omened campaign to reclaim Roman Mesopotamia from the Sassanid Empire. This marks a significant turning-point in the novel, as it is the end of Julian's memoir. The rest of the novel consists of field dispatches and diary entries detailing Julian's campaign, with commentary by Priscus and Libanius's reflections. Initially, Julian is extremely successful (in spite of his relying on Xenophon's dated Anabasis for geographic details of the region), reaching Ctesiphon and defeating the Persian emperor in several decisive battles. However, after Persian scorched-earth tactics leave Julian's army with no food or water, it becomes apparent that the Christian officers' loyalty is in question, and that a plot may be afoot to kill Julian. Priscus recounts a short conversation with another non-Christian advisor during the campaign, in which he is told simply, 'we're not safe'. Indeed, Julian's dispatches begin to show delusion on the part of the emperor, and in spite of his steadily eroding grasp of reality and his own limitations, he presses on until a near mutiny of his soldiers. Not long after, during the return to Roman territory, Julian rushes to fight off a Persian attack on the line, eschewing his armor, since his aide Callistus has not repaired its broken straps. Julian returns to camp mortally wounded, and in spite of the efforts of his physician and friend Oribasius, he dies without picking a successor. Here, Vidal's narrative departs slightly from the known story of Julian, as it becomes apparent in the novel that Julian was wounded by a Roman spear. Upon the removal of Julian's body, Priscus secretly rifles through Julian's belongings, taking Julian's memoir and diary for himself and saving them from censorship. The Christian officers win the debate over whom to elevate to the title of Augustus, settling on the simple-minded and drunken Jovian. The campaign ends in disaster, and Jovian cedes significant portions of Rome's eastern territory to the Sassanid Empire. The rest of the novel consists of the continuing correspondence of Libanius and Priscus; Libanius asks Priscus what he knows about Julian's death, himself suspecting that there was always a plot among the Christian officers to kill Julian. Priscus responds (with the assurance that his role as the source of such information would be kept anonymous) that, upon visiting Callistus years later, Priscus asked whether Callistus, who rode into battle with Julian on the day of his death, saw who killed the emperor. Callistus's originally one-dimensional and vague tale began to take on more detail, and when Priscus again asked whether Callistus knows the killer's identity, Callistus responded that he did, of course: 'it was I who killed the Emperor Julian'. Callistus recounted breaking the straps on Julian's armor before the fatal engagement, and personally stabbing Julian with his spear. Priscus asked how Callistus could have hated Julian, his benefactor. The Christian Callistus responded, chillingly, that he did not hate Julian, but admired him, and that 'every day [Callistus] pray[s]' for Julian's soul. Priscus closes the anecdote by begging Libanius to keep his name out of any published account of Julian's death, citing Callistus's powerful co- conspirators from the army and Theodosius's well-documented brutality, and Libanius's worst fears about Julian's death are confirmed. The novel ends with Libanius's sending a letter to the emperor Theodosius seeking permission to publish Julian's memoir; it is denied. Lamenting his ill health, Theodosius's politically motivated proscription of traditional religion, and the end of intellectual culture and its replacement by widespread religious violence and intolerance, Libanius meets John Chrysostom, his former best student, giving a sermon at a Christian church. Libanius finally realizes that traditional religion is defeated, seeing as even the best and brightest of his students have enthusiastically adopted Christianity. Irritated by John's solemn triumph, Libanius calls Christianity a death-cult, and in response, John Chrysostom morbidly implies that Christianity embraces the coming death of the classical world. By extension, though somewhat more vaguely, John claims that he awaits the coming apocalypse. In closing, Libanius writes, prophetically, that he hopes the coming collapse of reason and the Roman world will be only temporary, likening the dying of the Empire to that of his oil lamp, and expresses the hope that reason and 'man's love of light' would one day bring back the prosperity, stability, and intellectualism of the pre-Christian empire. 

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The Man was written before the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It depicts a political situation in which the office of Vice Presidency is vacant due to the incumbent's death. While overseas in Germany, the President and the Speaker of the House are in a freak accident; the President is killed, the Speaker of the House later dies in surgery. The Presidency then devolves onto Douglass Dilman, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, a black man earlier elected to that office in deference to his race. Dilman's presidency is challenged by white racists, black political activists, and an attempted assassination. Later, he is impeached on false charges for firing the United States Secretary of State. One of his children, who is "passing" for white, is targeted and harassed. At the end of the book the protagonist - though having credibly dealt with considerable problems during his Presidency and gained some popularity - does not consider running for re-election. 

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A Question of Upbringing opens with the narrator reflecting on a view of some men working outside in the cold, and this leads to an eventual reference to Poussin's painting A Dance to the Music of Time. The narrator (Nick Jenkins) proceeds to recall his school days in 1921-22, when he, Charles Stringham, and Peter Templer had been friends. The character of a more senior student, Kenneth Widmerpool, is the subject of the initial remembrances; there is also a recollection of a visit from Nick's Uncle Giles and a practical joke played by Stringham on the boys' school housemaster. Templer and Stringham each depart permanently from school before Nick, but the boys nonetheless remain friends. Nick meets Stringham's mother, the glamorous Mrs Foxe, and her husband, Cdr. Buster Foxe, "a chic sailor." After Nick leaves school, he also visits the Templers. There he sets eyes for the first time on Templer's sister Jean; he also meets the somewhat older Sunny Farebrother and Jimmy Stripling. Afterward, Nick encounters Widmerpool again while staying in France in order to improve his French. There, Nick first starts to consider Widmerpool as more than just a slightly farcical character when Widmerpool displays unexpected powers of persuasion in reconciling two of the other residents. Nick goes to university, where he encounters Sillery (a don whose main interest is establishing connections and pulling strings), fellow students Mark Members and J.G. Quiggin, and former student Bill Truscott. Stringham also eventually arrives at university, but is not enamored with it. The friendship between Stringham and Templer is tacitly ended when Templer visits with some London friends, Bob Duport and Jimmy Brent, and ends up driving all of them (Nick included) into a ditch. Stringham soon leaves university, going to work for Sir Magnus Donners. The book ends in London. Nick has come to town to dine with Stringham, but Stringham backs out on the dinner in order to attend a party. Nick realizes that the connections among the boyhood trio of friends, while maybe never particularly tight, have now almost entirely loosened: each is going his own way, at least for a time, until they are again brought into contact one with another as part of the "Dance." The book ends with Nick meeting his Uncle Giles for dinner. Upon arriving at the restaurant, Nick observes that Uncle Giles is reading Some Things that Matter by George Allardice Riddell. 

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Just before a nuclear war breaks out, a scientist at the British National Research Centre puts Paul (Rob Bartlett) and his girlfriend Jenny (Wendy Parsons) into suspended animation so they can live to see better days. 25 years later, the unit runs out of power and the couple is reanimated. They camp in peace for a few days, until they are beset and captured by a biker gang. The gang take Jenny and Paul to their home, a decadent city led by the Messiah (Patrick Olliver), a nazi chic-wearing megalomaniac with a deformed hand. Jenny is enrolled into the Messiah's harem while Paul is thrown in a cell. He is contacted by a sympathetic jailer called Barbara (Debri Stevens), who promises to arrange his escape and spare him from being forced to participate in "the Run". A prisoner with no name, known as Hero (Eddie Kirby), joins Paul and tells him he was the only man to ever survive the Run. They team up to escape: when Barbara arrives to feed them, they initiate a fight with her guards, which they win with Barbara's help. They subdue the rest of the gang by releasing captive mutants, who gleefully start killing the bikers. They then hijack a car and pick up Jenny. They fight some more gang members when they reach a gasworks at the outskirts of the city, and keep driving until they run out of petrol. They encounter a pregnant woman (Kate Kneafsey), who shares their hatred of the Messiah and shelters them among her people. A romance begins to blossom between Barbara and Hero. That night, however, they find Jenny dead and realise that their hosts are cannibals. They kill all but the pregnant woman, who reveals that she was raped by the Messiah and that the gang were using her resulting pregnancy to make her seem sympathetic to the rebels. They forgive her and decide to move on to elude pursuit by the Messiah's cronies. They don't go far before being ambushed by mutants, and they use up all their petrol incinerating them. Hero comes up with a plan: he trains Paul until he is fit enough to survive the Run, then lets him get captured by the Messiah. Paul performs the Run, which turns out to involve running down a hill while handcuffed to a metal wire which is fed with high- voltage electricity, all while fighting mutants bare-handed. Paul runs down the hill all the way into the forest, where the Messiah cannot see him, and thus allows Hero to get rid of the mutants for him and break his cuffs. Hero also captures a crony and handcuffs him to the wire to act as a decoy. The Messiah learns of the trick though, and sends all his men after the two. They dispatch most of them with ease, although Hero has a protracted wrestling match with a burly crony. He eventually succeeds in impaling his opponent with a fence post. The Messiah is finally left vulnerable, and his harem girls take turns stabbing him, until Paul finishes him off with a machete. Paul promises to end the Messiah's evil and found a new society based on good. Some time later, Paul is building a house for his village of good. The pregnant woman has had her baby, and he allows her to shelter in the house to breastfeed. The film ends with a shot of the baby's hand, which is deformed just like the Messiah's. 

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James Arnold "Dad" Ross and his son, James Jr. ("Bunny") are introduced as they drive through southern California to meet with the Watkins family, who are leasing out some oil property they own. They find out that the family is deadlocked about how the properties and proceeds should be divided. While Dad and Bunny go quail hunting on the Watkins' goat ranch, they find oil. At Bunny's urging, Dad tries to prevent the elder Watkins from beating his daughter Ruth, trying to convince them that he has received a "third revelation" which prohibits parents from beating their children. The plan backfires when Eli, Ruth's brother, interjects himself into the discussion and claims that he has received the revelation. As drilling begins at the Watkins ranch, Bunny begins to realize his father's business methods are not entirely ethical. After a worker is killed in an accident and an oil well is destroyed in a blowout, Dad's workforce goes on strike. Bunny is torn between loyalty to Dad and his friendship to Ruth and her rebellious brother Paul, who support the workers. Paul is drafted into World War I and, when the conflict is over, remains in Siberia to fight the rising Bolsheviks. Back home, Bunny enrolls in college, and he becomes increasingly involved with socialism through a classmate, Rachel Menzies. Paul returns home and tells of his travels, explaining he has become a communist. Bunny accompanies Dad to the seaside mansion of his business associate Vernon Roscoe. Dad and Roscoe flee the country to avoid being subpoenaed by Congress in the Teapot Dome scandal. Before Dad goes away, Bunny proposes parting ways with his father and earning his own way in the world; Dad is confused and hurt, but not unsupportive. Overseas, Dad meets and marries Mrs. Olivier, a widow and Spiritualist, but soon passes away from pneumonia. Bunny decides to dedicate his life and inheritance to social justice while Roscoe moves to get control of the bulk of Dad's estate. Bunny and his sister Bertie are swindled out of most of their inheritance by Roscoe and Mrs. Olivier. Bunny marries Rachel and they dedicate themselves to establishing a socialist institution of learning; Eli, by now a successful evangelist, falsely claims that Paul underwent a deathbed conversion to Christianity. 

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Will and Danny Jensen are brothers, and the film begins with an interview with their parents. They talk about Will and Danny's youth-pageant championships and their singing abilities. Will and Danny's parents can't sing, as their poor attempt shows. Will Jensen (Will Swensen) is an aerobics instructor and is popular with women (the blonde he is constantly seen with is a different girl on camera each time. He sees the band as his. Kirby later says that Will is near controlling, but not quite. Danny Jensen (Danny Tarasevich) is an ice hockey player and has a life philosophy that is a fusion of Buddhism and Mormonism. His introductory interviews are done in front of posters of Ozzy Osbourne and Donny & Marie. Whenever he has a moral dilemma, he thinks, "What Would Donny & Marie Do?" (WWD&MD;). Will and Danny Jensen are the remaining members of an LDS boy-band from Provo, Utah that recently lost its third member because of "artistic reasons." Will and Danny begin the search for a new third member of their band that does not yet have a name. They begin by posting flyers and holding auditions in their own house. After that fails, they start searching local plays and baseball games (for singers of the national anthem). They eventually decide on the star of a production of Forever Plaid at a local community theatre. He turns them down without reservation. They then do an impromptu try-out of one of the costars, Kirby Laybourne (Kirby Heyborne), and recruit him for the group. Kirby is a scrapbooking specialist who works at Daisy Cutter Scrapbooking Company. His CTR ring is his most important possession. The group needs a manager, so Will and Danny hire their nephew (who is older), Grayson Jensen (Peter Brown), for the job. The first gig he books for them is as the targets of a pie-throwing booth at a local fair. They sing while pies are being thrown at them. They are not pleased with their manager. Their second gig is at a local wedding reception in a church gymnasium. The gymnasium is partitioned off so that half is for the wedding reception. When they begin to perform, one of the microphone stands collapses. A boy scout troop begins to shoot hoops in the other end of the gymnasium. Kirby turns up the music to overpower the sounds of the basketball playing and causes feedback. The bride and groom then begin to argue and the bride walks out. Then the group ends their performance and argues vociferously with their manager during which the manager uses the words "fetchers", "flippin'", "heck" and "butt". Will tells him, "Watch your language!" In the next scene, Will says, "I, for one, am fine with the fact that we had to let Grayson go. There is a certain level of conduct that is expected from a boy-band's manager. I know that Justin Timberlake's manager doesn't throw out language like that." At the next official group meeting, the first order of business is to find a new manager. The band ends up hiring an old girlfriend of Kirby's who works at Provo Theatre Company, Jill Keith (Jennifer Erekson). Meanwhile, Will has set up their next gig to perform at a local fireside. Will splurges and purchases headmikes that are "the same model as Jessica Simpson used at her last two mall appearances." One of the men who hears them there has a recording studio in his house and offers to record their music so he asks, "What's your band's name?" They hold a brainstorming session in a park and come up with the name "Everkleen" (eventually shifting to the spelling, "Everclean.") They decide that they need to hire a professional choreographer, a local ballet instructor, Yvonne Bolschweiler (Maureen Eastwood). She insists on them working hard without backtalking. After recording their first album, they begin to get some paying gigs. It doesn't take long until they have a tour starting in Salt Lake City, Utah and including Logan, Utah; Salem, Utah; and Moscow, Idaho. During their tour, the reservations that they had made for the Days Inn in St. George, Utah had been lost and, "There's no room in the inn." They camp out that night on the Red Hill in Utah, with a short campfire song named "I Am Called Buttercup." This is the first concert where they let Kirby sing lead vocal, in the song "Spiritchal as Me". Some time after this performance, they read a review in the newspaper which pans their performance. It was written with such highbrow words that they think that it is a good review. At a performance at Utah State University, Kirby loses his CTR ring down a drain just before a performance. In one of the earlier interviews, he conveys how important it is to him. He can be seen clearly performing below par. During the performance, the band manager gets someone to take the drain apart and retrieve the ring, which she returns to Kirby during the performance. One of the songs that they perform in their concerts is titled "Dang, Fetch, Oh my Heck" It starts out with the lyrics, "Dang! Fetch! Oh my Heck! What the holy scrud? / H-E double hockey sticks! That's frickin' flippin' crud!" Their former band manager, Grayson, who is at the performance walks out calling them hypocrites, and saying some other near-profanities. Their next performance is at the Jensen family reunion. It will be the first time since the band has seen Grayson since he was fired. When they encounter each other, they are cordial. Everclean performs to some applause. Then Grayson introduces the singing group that he has been managing for the past few months, moosebutter (an actual a cappella comedy group) who performs to wild applause. The Everclean tour ends up at Centerville High School (Provo, Utah), where the Jensen brothers went to high school. While practicing for the performance, Will doesn't appreciate that a high school junior is managing the technical aspects instead of a senior. This escalates in to an argument between the band members from which they all walk away. The band manager talks to Will and convinces him to listen to the tape that Kirby has made of the song that he wrote and wants to perform. Will then apologizes to Danny. They both call up Kirby who is listening as they leave a message on his answering machine. Will and Danny are practicing Kirby's song just before the performance not knowing if Kirby will show up. He does show up, and Will admits that the group can't get along without Kirby. The last scene is a performance of Kirby's song by Everclean, with Will and Danny singing backup. 

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Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a workaholic tax attorney, separated from his wife Kate (Jean Smart) and often too busy for their children, Sarah (Kimberly J. Brown) and Georgie (Angus T. Jones). Peter arranges a blind date at his home with Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), a woman he has been chatting with online. Misled by her photograph and description, he is shocked to discover that she is actually a felon who corresponded with him from prison. Charlene tries to blackmail Peter into clearing her name of armed robbery, claiming she is innocent, but he throws her out after several attempts. Just as Peter is about to meet with a difficult client, Mrs. Virginia Arness (Joan Plowright), he is ambushed by Charlene, who draws the lustful attention of his friend and colleague Howie Rottman (Eugene Levy). Agreeing to help expunge Charlene's record and let her stay at his house, Peter lies that she is his nanny. Charlene is disrespected by Kate's unpleasant sister, Ashley (Missi Pyle), but subdues her in a vicious locker-room brawl. Peter takes Charlene to dinner, and Kate is upset to spot them dancing together. Returning home, Charlene coaches a drunk Peter on winning Kate back, and they are caught in a compromising position by Peter's bigoted neighbor, his boss’ sister. Charlene helps Georgie overcome his struggles with reading, rescues Sarah from unwanted advances at a party, and guides Peter toward become a more understanding parent. Impressing Kate with his new commitment to spending time with their kids, Peter attempts to invite her over but is interrupted by a call, to Kate's disappointment. He races home to meet Mrs. Arness, who invites herself to dinner, and reminisces fondly about her family having owned slaves. Enraged, Charlene adds laxatives to Mrs. Arness’ plate, which is inadvertently given to Peter. A TV news report declares that Charlene is a fugitive, having broken out of prison; the report includes security footage from a bank robbery, appearing to prove that a masked Charlene committed the crime. Mrs. Arness leaves, refusing to sign the lucrative contract for Peter's firm, and Peter sends Charlene away. At the office, he discovers Mrs. Arness has notified the FBI, and sneaks out to his car. He is threatened at gunpoint by Widow, Charlene's ex-boyfriend, who warns him not to reopen her case, but Peter manages to drive off. Realizing Widow must have framed Charlene, Peter returns home to ask for his children's help finding her. Sarah admits that she gave Charlene his cell phone, which Peter calls and picks Charlene up. He explains that she was set up by Widow, who is likely at a club downtown. Peter drops Charlene off at his house, saying he is returning to the office, but instead goes to the club. Buying street clothes off of a passer-by, Peter enters the club in disguise. Kate arrives at Peter's house to find the children waiting while the FBI search the premises. Charlene calls Howie to drive her to the home of Mrs. Arness, who refuses to let Charlene explain herself, leading Charlene and Howie to kidnap Mrs. Arness and her beloved French bulldog. Charlene calls Sarah and realizes Peter went to the club, where Peter attempts to blend in but is captured by Widow. Peter gets Widow to confess to having committed the robbery disguised as Charlene. Arriving at the club, Mrs. Arness gets drunk and high while Charlene calls the authorities, and she and Howie confront Widow. After a scuffle for his gun, Widow shoots Charlene, and the FBI storm the club. Charlene is saved from the bullet by Peter's titanium cell phone, and Peter reveals that he recorded Widow's confession on a boombox. Having secured Mrs. Arness as a multibillion- dollar client, Peter and Howie start their own firm. Moving into their new office, Peter is surprised by Charlene, and they exchange thanks for their impact on each other's lives. Kate arrives, and she and Peter reconcile as his cell phone rings. He tosses it out the window and they kiss; downstairs, Charlene and Howie appear to do the same. 

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Civil war threatens the unity of the Galactic Alliance. To ensure financial stability, the Alliance wants more control in the powerful Corellian systems. This involves control over the Centerpoint Station, a powerful artifact that is capable, in the right hands, of destroying entire planets. The Corellian systems desire more independence than the Alliance is willing to let them have. Han and Leia Solo anger their families and friends by allying themselves with the Corellian insurgents. The Corellian government send the Solos on a diplomatic mission to the powerful Hapes Consortium, but Han and Leia are outraged when they discover a plan to buy Consortium support by murdering the pro-Alliance queen Tenel Ka and her daughter Allana, who is secretly Han and Leia's granddaughter. The Solos race to solve the situation and save the intended victims. Neither the queen or her daughter are killed, but the Solos are now the number one suspects in the assassination attempt. Meanwhile, Jacen Solo's dark side powers grow stronger under the Dark Jedi Lumiya. As such, the Galactic Alliance Guard, which he commands, grows more powerful and corrupt. Lumiya is encouraging Jacen to make a sacrifice, by killing an important family member; this would "balance the Force ". As Jacen goes closer to the dark side, his influence over his potential apprentice, Ben Skywalker, grows stronger. Various characters come together over the conflict. Luke, secretly betrayed by Jacen, nearly loses his life in a duel with Lumiya and the wayward Twi'lek Jedi Alema Rar. Han and Leia, on the run, literally come under fire from their own son, who is commanding the Star Destroyer Anakin Solo. They barely escape with their lives, though the Millennium Falcon is shot clean through and Leia's friends, her two Noghri bodyguards, are killed. Regardless, the traitors in Tenel Ka's Hapes Consortium and their Corellian allies fail their mission to overthrow the Queen Mother, and with Jacen's fleet's success in defending Tenel Ka, the two of them secretly embrace as lovers before he leaves her once again. 

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While on a visit to the (fictional) Belmont Bevatron in the 1957 novel's near-future year of 1959, eight people become stuck in a series of subtly and not-so-subtly unreal worlds. The instigating incident is a malfunction of the particle accelerator, which places all of the injured parties in states of total or partial unconsciousness. Jack Hamilton, the central protagonist, is dismissed from his job at the California Maintenance Labs due to McCarthy-era paranoia about his wife Marsha's left-wing political sympathies; this dismissal is instigated by security chief Charlie McFeyffe. Bill Laws, an African-American possessing a PhD in Physics, is employed as a lowly tour guide for the Bevatron. Arthur Sylvester is an elderly political conservative and believer in an obsolete geocentric cosmology, derived from a schismatic Bábí offshoot. Joan Reiss is a pathologically paranoid woman, and Edith Pritchet is a maternal but censorious elderly woman. Her son David, along with Charlie McFeyffe, complete the eight-member tour group. After the Bevatron fails, all eight members of the tour group are injured by a collapsing walkway and high levels of radiation. They awake to a world where miracles, prayer, and curses are common-day occurrences. Hamilton and Charles McFeyffe travel to heaven and glimpse a gargantuan eye of God. They discover that they are inside the mind of Arthur Sylvester and knock him unconscious, hoping that doing so will return them to reality. Instead, they continue to a different universe. The next universe is a caricature of Victorian morality in which Edith Pritchett has abolished everything which she considers unpleasant, and the third universe reveals the paranoid delusions of Joan Reiss. Finally, the group arrives in a Marxist caricature of contemporary US society. The characters discover that Marsha Hamilton did not create this world. Instead, Charles McFeyffe is revealed as a Communist who is using his position as chief security officer to further the ideals of the Communist Party. After McFeyffe is knocked unconscious, the group believes they have returned to the real world. Jack Hamilton and Bill Laws form a small business that seeks advances in stereophonic technology. The disclosure of McFeyffe's Marxist allegiances is dismissed as unproveable. The novel ends ambiguously, as it is unclear if the group has returned to reality or is still living in someone else's universe. 

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In ages past, a malevolent race called the Arakacians discovered a place where space-time leaked a type of fluid. This fluid granted immortality to anyone who consumed it. The Arakacians built an empire and enslaved the known universe for centuries; they were unstoppable. The Arakacians were finally vanquished after the fountain chamber (where they gathered the water of life) was sealed by freedom fighters. The key to the chamber, a glowing crystal that will lead the bearer back to the fountain, but would drive anyone who possessed it insane, was cast into space and lost among the stars. In a present-day asteroid excavation, space crewman Tyler and his colleague find the key by accident. Tyler touches the key and instantly goes insane. Tyler kills his mining partner, and takes over the ship, killing most of the resisting crew except for Dr. Schechter, and the pilots Lambert and Germain. His search for the planet with the fountain leads to Eden, a planet that is designated F.A.K.K.² (Federation-Assigned Ketogenic Killzone to the second level), but has inhabitants whose bodies carry the immortality fluid. Tyler invades Eden, and kills many of the Edenites, capturing some so he can extract the immortality fluids from their bodies. He also keeps the attractive Kerrie for his own sexual purposes. When Germain resists the idea, he is left on Eden. Kerrie's beautiful sister Julie, who survived the attack, finds Germain and they team up to follow Tyler. At a renegade space station, Julie finds Tyler at a restaurant and critically injures him. However, he ingests a vial with the immortality serum and heals instantly. In the ensuing gunfight, Tyler blows up the club. Julie escapes the explosion; she and Germain board a shuttle-craft that latches onto Tyler's ship with a tractor beam before it jumps into hyperspace. Discovering them mid-travel, Tyler tries to shake them off, but the fight causes the hyperspace to collapse and the two ships to crash. Julie wakes up on the desert planet called Oroboris, and meets a mysterious cloaked sage named Odin and his assistant, Zeek, a rock-like creature, both of whom are guardians of the ancient fountain. Elsewhere, Tyler's ship has been destroyed and most of his crew and abductees are dead. Tyler orders Dr. Schechter to extract Kerrie's fluids. He explores the planet and finds a race of reptilian beings, which he conquers by defeating their champion and then their leader in a death match. Julie enters the reptilian city in disguise as a woman that the reptiles found for Tyler. That night, she seduces Tyler, but when she tries to kill him, Zeek captures her and takes her back to Odin. Julie infiltrates Tyler's ship where she discovers Kerrie is still alive. She takes out Dr. Schechter, frees Kerrie, and escapes as the complex explodes. As a result, Tyler vows to make Julie immortal so he can "screw her and kill her every hour of every day for all eternity." With only three vials of serum, he orders his troops to storm the citadel where the immortality fountain is located. At the citadel, Julie undergoes a ritual where she is outfitted in armor. She, Kerrie, and Germain help the fountain's guardians defend against Tyler's army. In the fighting, Lambert suffers a near-fatal injury and while reaching for Tyler's last vial of immortality serum, he knocks it loose from Tyler's belt and it breaks on the ground. Tyler, enraged, kills Lambert for the blunder. Tyler then walks to the pit of immortality and is about to put the crystal into the fountain's final lock but is stopped by Julie. She stabs Tyler in the left eye before he is able to place the crystal in the lock. A fight ensues, but Tyler appears to have the advantage, until Odin intervenes, which allows Julie to finally kill Tyler. After Tyler is left dead, Odin, throwing off his cloak, reveals himself to be the last of the Arakacians. He has been in hiding all these centuries, waiting for someone to find the chamber key and be drawn to the fountain. He intends to claim it as his own, and reestablish the Arakacian empire. However, Zeek pulls the crystal key from the pedestal, locking Odin inside the fountain chamber forever, and flies into outer space. As Germain and Kerrie help Julie to her feet, Zeek envelops the crystal into himself and becomes a new asteroid to hide the key for all time. 

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In ancient Egypt, an evil sorcerer named Scarab kills the pharaoh's son, Prince Rapses, to become immortal. Entombed alive for his crime (Rapses' body was also never found), Scarab revives in the modern world and begins his search for Rapses' reincarnation, a San Francisco-dwelling boy named Presley Carnovan, to retrieve the spirit of Rapses so he can become immortal. Rapses' (Presley's) bodyguards, Ja-Kal, Rath, Armon, and Nefer-Tina, along with Rapses' cat, Kahti, awake from the dead to protect him from Scarab. They use the power of Ra to transform into powerful guardians. Each of the mummies is aligned with the power of an Egyptian god. Ja-Kal uses the spirit of falcon, Rath uses the spirit of snake, Armon uses the spirit of ram, and Nefer-Tina uses the spirit of cat. They are able to call upon it for magical armor and powers to fight superhuman evildoers. Although, once their strength is exhausted, they must rest in their sarcophagi to regain the ability. In order to access these powers, the mummies call out the phrase "With the Strength of Ra!", which triggers their transformation. The mummies also have the power to make a horrifying face, usually used to scare away nosy bystanders. In addition to Scarab, the mummies often had to contend with gods and spirits from Egyptian myth summoned to the modern world, including Anubis, Set, Geb, Apep, Bast, Sekhmet, Bes, and many others, usually as part of one of Scarab's schemes that went out of his control. 

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The Crop, is set in the early 1980s in Australia, and is about larrikin nightclub owner, Ronnie 'Blade' Gillette (George Elliot), and his barmaid girlfriend Geraldine (Holly Brisley). Two months after random breath testing has been introduced, Blade realises he's going broke. Afraid of driving under the influence, his customers are not buying his grog, they're going out to the carpark to smoke dope. Like any good businessman, Blade decides he needs a strategy. He decides to grow some dope as a way out of his financial hole. Blade and his best mate, Wack (Rhys Muldoon), set about growing their crop of weed on a property owned by the father of his girlfriend but they soon get caught in a bind between crooked cops and a ruthless moneylender. Despite starring Craig Owen (former footballer, actor and punter who is now well past his prime in all respects and who is living in the shadow of his past glories), the film was a disastrous flop... 

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Todd Armstrong (Avalon) and Craig Gamble (Hickman) are California college undergraduates who unsuccessfully date co-eds Linda Hughes (Deborah Walley) and Barbara Norris (Yvonne Craig). Arrogant, handsome, athletic classmate Freddie (Aron Kincaid) has no such problems and chooses not to fight off all the women chasing after him. As president of the Ski Club, Freddie organizes a midterm vacation trip to ski country (in gorgeous Sawtooth National Forest) in Idaho. Although they know nothing about skiing, Todd and Craig follow Linda and Barbara on this bus trip, to try to learn "the secret of Freddie's technique". Once at the rustic ski resort, Todd and Craig pose as frumpy, non-threatening, young English women, Jane and Nora, with terrible accents. When not interrupted by a mysterious ice skating, yodeling polar bear, or toying with psychologically- imbalanced and lederhosen-clad lodge manager Mr. Pevney (Robert Q. Lewis), they observe the girls in their group up close, to learn how to succeed with women, and figure out how they have gone wrong. To make Linda jealous, Todd attracts the attention of gorgeous, curvy Swedish ski instructor Nita (Bobbi Shaw) when he's dressed as himself. But Freddie becomes obsessed with Craig when Craig is dressed as a woman, not accustomed to girls who play "hard to get". Nita persuades Todd, over Freddie's goading, to compete in a ski jump against Freddie. Todd's jump, featuring absurdly comical special effects, forces Craig to shoot him down, resulting in a broken leg. Todd crawls through miles of deep snow, late at night, with his broken leg covered in a plaster cast, to Nita's house. Toting a bottle, he learns that Nita is not the exotic minx she pretends to be, but aspires to be treated like an "American girl", that is, with much "talk" and little "action". Back at the lodge, Freddie, still obsessed with Craig's "female" character, Nora, tries to break down "Nora's" room door. Stuck inside, Todd and Craig contemplate their next move as they escape through a window. Somehow, they hail a taxi, and rack up an enormous fare to Santa Monica, California. Freddie follows on a moped piloted by fur-coated lodge manager Pevney. The rest of the group abruptly ends its spring break and follows behind on the bus. Todd, Linda, Craig, and Barbara arrive, with the rest of the group and Pevney, at Todd's parents' beachfront house. There, the two couples share their true feelings and the boys surprise the girls with their ruse. Delusional Freddie runs into the Pacific Ocean, calling to his beloved Nora, after Craig tells him that when she heard Freddie was coming, she started swimming: By now, she is "somewhere between here and Japan." Craig encourages Freddie to hurry; maybe he can catch her "somewhere near Guam". "Pretty mean thing to do," Craig says to the audience, reassuring us that they will tell Freddie everything tomorrow, "If he comes back..." 

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The story centres mainly upon six characters: Gordon (a Lieutenant of the Royal Scots Fusiliers); Audebert (a French Lieutenant in the 26th Infantry and reluctant son of a general); Horstmayer (a Jewish German Lieutenant of the 93rd Infantry); Father Palmer (a Scottish priest working as a chaplain and stretcher-bearer); and two famous opera stars, German tenor Nikolaus Sprink - Walter Kirchoff - and his Danish fiancée, mezzo-soprano Anna Sørensen. The film begins with scenes of schoolboys reciting patriotic speeches that both praise their countries and condemn their enemies. In Scotland, two young brothers, Jonathan and William, join up to fight, followed by their priest, Father Palmer, who becomes a chaplain. In Germany, Sprink is interrupted during a performance by a German officer announcing a reserve call up. French soldier Audebert looks at a photograph of his pregnant wife, whom he has had to leave behind (in the occupied part of France, just in front of his trench), and prepares to exit into the trenches for an Allied assault on German lines. However the assault fails, with the French and Scottish taking many casualties while William loses his life. In Germany, Anna gets permission to perform for Crown Prince Wilhelm, and Sprink is allowed to accompany her. They spend a night together and then perform. Afterward, Sprink expresses bitterness at the comfort of the generals at their headquarters, and resolves to go back to the front to sing for the troops. Sprink initially opposes Anna's decision to go with him, but he agrees shortly afterward. The unofficial truce begins when the Scots begin to sing festive songs and songs from home, accompanied by bagpipes. Sprink and Sørensen arrive on the German front line, and Sprink sings for his comrades. As Sprink sings "Silent Night", he is accompanied by Father Palmer's bagpipes from the Scottish front line. Sprink responds to Palmer and exits his trench with a small Christmas tree, singing "Adeste Fideles". Following Sprink's lead Audebert, Horstmayer, and Gordon meet in no- man's-land and agree on a cease-fire for the evening. The various soldiers meet and wish each other "Joyeux Noël", "Frohe Weihnachten", and "Merry Christmas". They exchange chocolate, champagne, and photographs of loved ones. Horstmayer gives Audebert back his wallet containing a photograph of his wife, which was lost in the attack a few days prior, and they connect over pre-war memories. Father Palmer celebrate a brief Mass for the soldiers (in Latin as was the practice in the Catholic Church at that time), and the soldiers retire deeply moved. However, Jonathan remains totally unmoved by the events around him, choosing to grieve for his brother. The following morning, the Lieutenants agree to extend the truce to allow each side to bury their dead, followed by cordial fraternisation for the rest of the day. In the meantime, Horstmayer learns that Anna and Sprink left without the German superior's assent to entertain fellow front soldiers and informs both that Sprink is going to be arrested for disobedience. Anna and Sprink then ask Audebert to take them as captives, in order to avoid separation. Father Palmer is being sent back to his own parish and his battalion is disbanded as a mark of shame. Despite emphasising the humanity and goodwill of the truce, he is rebuked by the bishop, who then preaches an anti-German sermon to new recruits, in which he describes the Germans as inhumane and commands the recruits to kill every one of them. Father Palmer overhears the sermon and removes his cross as he leaves. Back in the trenches, the Scots are ordered by a furious major (who is angered by the truce) to shoot a German soldier who is entering no-man's-land and crossing towards French lines. All of the soldiers deliberately miss in response, except the bitter Jonathan, who shoots the targeted German soldier. Audebert, hearing the familiar alarm clock ringing outside, rushes out and discovers that the soldier is a disguised Ponchel, his batman. With his dying words, Ponchel reveals he gained help from the German soldiers, visited his mother, and had coffee with her. He also informs Audebert that he has a young son named Henri. Audebert is punished by being sent to Verdun, and he receives a dressing down from his father, a general. In a culminating rant, young Audebert upbraids his father, expressing no remorse at the fraternisation at the front, and his disgust for civilians and superiors who talk of sacrifice but know nothing of the struggle in the trenches. He also informs the general about his new grandson Henri. Moved by this revelation, the general then recommends they "both try and survive this war for him". Horstmayer and his troops, who are confined in a train, are informed by the German Crown Prince that they are to be shipped to the Eastern Front, without permission to see their families as they pass through Germany. He then stomps on Jörg's harmonica and says that Horstmayer does not deserve his Iron Cross. As the train departs, the Germans start humming a Scottish carol they learned from the Scots, "L'Hymne des Fraternisés/ I'm Dreaming of Home". 

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The series is initially set in September 2005 in Okinawa City (Koza) on Okinawa Island near the US Kadena Air Base. Under the care of her adoptive family, the protagonist Saya Otonashi had been living the life of an anemic amnesiac, but otherwise ordinary schoolgirl. However, her happy life is shattered when she is attacked by a Chiropteran, a hematophagous bat-like creature that lives by feeding on human blood. Saya learns that she is the only one who can defeat them, as her blood causes their bodies to crystallize and shatter. Armed with her special katana, Saya embarks on a journey with her family, friends, allies, and her chevalier Haji, to rid the world of the Chiropteran threat and recover her identity. The course of the journey reveals the background history of the Chiropterans and Saya's mysterious past, which extends into the mid-19th century. Over the course of the series, Saya travels across the world from Japan to Vietnam, Russia, France, and finally the U.S. 

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Allan Maxwell (Cliff Robertson) is an engineer who has dedicated himself to researching microwave background noise using a device powered from his radio station. He inadvertently gets an extraterrestrial from Andromeda on his three-dimensional television screen. Using his computer, Allan is able to translate the extraterrestrial's thought patterns into English. Both are conducting illicit experiments; Maxwell should not be using the radio station's power, and the extraterrestrial is not allowed to use equipment for exploration. Also, "Reason we are not allowed to contact you, you are danger to other galaxies." Allan and the extraterrestrial have further enlightening, philosophical conversations, in which no epistemological basis is given for the Andromedan's opinion that Maxwell's own "brain waves" will "go on" subsequent to the death of his carbon-based body. Maxwell then hears the opinion that "Infinity is God. God, infinity, all the same" after the being explains "electromagnetic forces underlying all ... electromagnetic force intelligent", in response to Maxwell's query regarding whether the alien believes in God as an intelligent force. Much of this interaction, along with Maxwell's earlier discussion of Faraday with his wife, is a play on James Clerk Maxwell, the father of electromagnetic theory and his predecessor Michael Faraday, as is the alien's reference to quaternions when stating that its species uses "4 dimension numbers" to identify themselves rather than names. In the evening, Allan reluctantly leaves the radio station to be feted at a banquet, while leaving the channel to the extraterrestrial open. DJ Eddie Phillips, who is substituting for Allan's brother Gene "Buddy" Maxwell (Lee Philips), after being told not to, turns up the power to full, causing the extraterrestrial to be transmitted to Earth as a three-dimensional electromagnetic being. The 'Galaxy Being', as it is dubbed, wreaks inadvertent havoc, killing Eddie and injuring several other people by burning them with natural radiation. The extraterrestrial encounters Allan in person, who convinces it to turn down the heat, and then guides it back to the transmitter shed. They are soon cornered by local authorities, who accidentally shoot Allan's wife, Carol (Jacqueline Scott). The Galaxy Being then uses beneficial radiation to heal the wound. When the Galaxy Being emerges, the authorities attempt to kill it; but it protects itself by destroying the bullets in flight, again with radiation. As a warning demonstration (and perhaps to prevent other aliens from coming), the Galaxy Being destroys the transmitter tower. The mob is told, "There are powers in this universe beyond anything you know. … There is much you have to learn. … Go to your homes. Go and give thought to the mysteries of the universe. I will leave you now, in peace." At this, the crowd disperses. The Galaxy Being then chooses not to return home inasmuch as it has violated a law forbidding contact with Earth. So, after first reassuring Allan that "There is no death for me," answering his concerns that it would disintegrate, the Galaxy Being reduces its microwave intensity which causes it to fade out from the Terran realm. Its last words as it vanishes into another putative dimension are "End of transmission". 

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An undisclosed Asian government, presumably Mao Zedong's Communist China, based upon the description in the opening narration, plans to take over America by infiltrating and substituting officials at the White House. During the presidential campaign, William Lyons Selby, the candidate predicted to win the presidential election, is murdered and replaced by a lookalike, a doppelgänger. Selby is indeed elected, and the impostor assumes the office of President of the United States. Though he fools the nation at large during his first few months in office, his daughter, Carol, soon begins to suspect that the man in the White House is not her father. Carol observes that Selby remembers dates and other publicly available information, but forgets private information, such as his food preferences and details of her husband's research projects. She voices her concerns to the Vice President, Ted Pearson, who disbelieves her, at first, until he is targeted for replacement by an assassin who breaks into his residence, is discovered lying in wait, and is chased off before he can effect the replacement, he being already in the guise of Pearson, which Pearson observes in disbelief. Carol's husband, a physician and medical researcher, recalls that a peer-reviewed scientific journal disclosed Soviet experiments wherein a hominid animal's soft tissue had been successfully altered, and he speculated that the "serum" which was employed had been advanced significantly beyond that which was previously disclosed, to include human subjects, and he explained this to the Vice President. Now convinced that Carol's expressed concerns were plausible, Pearson informed Frank Summers—the head of the Secret Service detail assigned to the White House—of the plot, and his suspicion that Selby was actually an impostor, but Summers' team fails to confirm Selby's true identity using forensic science. Prior to a planned summit meeting, the leader of the Asian government confers with his spy at the White House, wherein the Asian reveals to Selby the second phase of his conspiracy—to replace various cabinet members (Labor, etc.) and numerous private industry chief executives (banking, broadcast media, newsprint media, oil, steel, etc.) in order to complete his takeover of America. When Selby arranges a second attempt at replacing the Vice President, the conspirators, including the Vice President's doppelgänger, are captured, brought before the President and numerous invited guests during a state reception, and, along with Selby, are publicly exposed, with the real Pearson placing the doppelgänger Selby under arrest, charging him with murder (of the real Selby) and conspiring to overthrow the United States government. Summers proposes an armed response against the Asian government, but Pearson, now as President, declines. 

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Wilby Daniels (Dean Jones) is now a successful attorney who is married to Betty (Suzanne Pleshette), and they have a son named Brian (Shane Sinutko). Returning to the town of Medfield from a vacation, the family discovers that they have been robbed of almost all their possessions, and Wilby blames the local district attorney John Slade (Keenan Wynn), who is reputed to have connections with organized crime, particularly with warehouse owner Edward "Fast Eddie" Roshak (Vic Tayback). After being robbed a second time later that night (along with their Navy admiral neighbor, Gordon C. Brenner), Wilby vows to run for district attorney to make his town safe again. Meanwhile, the two thugs who had robbed the Daniels', Freddie (Richard Bakalyan) and Dip (Warren Berlinger), observe the Borgia ring at the local museum and assume it might fetch a large sum, so they steal it. The ugly ring with a scarab on it can only be pawned off to local bumbling ice cream salesman, Tim, who is the owner of a large Old English Sheepdog named Elwood. Tim figures he will give the ring to his girlfriend Katrinka (Jo Anne Worley), a local roller derby star and pastry assistant. While dressing himself in preparation for a live television broadcast to announce his candidacy, Wilby hears a report of the Borgia ring being stolen. He freezes in terror, then reveals his former shape-shifting secret to his wife, who is certain his story cannot be true; he warns her that if the inscription on the ring ("In canis corpore transmuto") [I transmute into the body of a dog] is spoken aloud he will turn into a shaggy dog. Soon afterward, Wilby is moments before his live television debut as Tim discovers the inscription on the ring and reads it aloud, causing Elwood to disappear - only to reappear moments later as he takes over Wilby's body. Moments before the cameras roll Brian notices that shaggy hair is growing all over his father, who reacts in horror, as he realizes he is turning into an Elwood the shaggy dog. He rushes from the house and cameras in his dog form and briefly confounds Tim, who can’t understand why his dog Elwood suddenly can speak. The spell wears off, and Wilby is now in his human form again and determined to find the ring as he faces the prospect of being a candidate in the public eye who never knows when he might turn into a dog. Soon, Wilby's fears come true as Katrinka receives the ring and once again the inscription is read, just as Wilby is giving a public address at a ladies garden club (the Daisies). Betty warns him of his shaggy condition a split-second before his canine form would become apparent to all gathered and creates a near riot while trying to escape. Once again, Tim finds Wilby in Elwood's form and is convinced that his talking dog could make millions; when Tim wanders off momentarily, Wilby returns to his human form, leaving a silent Elwood to confound Tim further. Meanwhile, Raymond (Dick Van Patten), an agent of Wilby's rival, John Slade, gets suspicious and wonders why Wilby keeps disappearing. Desperate to find the ring, the hunt leads to Katrinka, who seems to have lost it in a vat of cherry pie filling intended for a John Slade fundraiser. Offering a reward to whoever finds the ring, Katrinka and her colleagues go into a mad dash to find it, eventually escalating into a large-scale pie fight. In the pandemonium, the ring once again finds itself in the hands of the local thugs who this time attempt to pass it off to an undercover police detective. Once again in the hands of the museum, the inscription is read aloud as a point of reference; in the middle of the police station, Wilby (who had arrived to confirm the ring had been recovered) finds himself turning into Elwood once again. This time, Slade's agent puts two and two together when he overhears the museum's curator explaining the ring's reputed power and how his predecessor (from the first film) told him a story of a young man that turned into a sheepdog years ago. Slade is informed of this weakness in his rival, is dubious at first, and then invites Wilby to his office to test out the theory. He advises Wilby to withdraw his campaign. Wilby refuses and tells Slade that when he is elected, he will have him investigated regarding his criminal connections. Slade then reveals he has his ring. With a reading of the inscription, Slade is thrilled to see Wilby Daniels turn into the shaggy dog right before his eyes and makes a call to the local pound. Wilby escapes hearing Slade repeat the inscription several times, which guarantees that the spell will not wear off, and he will be trapped in a dog's form for some time to come. Slade ignores warnings that reciting the incantation too often could cause the spell to transfer to him and keeps reciting the incantation over and over. Wilby eventually disguises himself as a female roller-derby competitor to elude Slade, who as district attorney has the entire police force and animal control at his disposal. Eventually, Wilby is caught and taken to the local dog pound where he is able to understand the other dogs, who band together to help him escape. With the help of Brian and Tim (who still thinks his dog Elwood can speak until Wilby tells him the truth about what really happened), Wilby gets evidence that John Slade is connected to organized crime. Wilby and Tim trick Slade into showing up at Roshak's warehouse, and Wilby uses a tape recorder to collect information that confirms Slade's wrongdoings. With the help of his dog friends from the pound, he also manages to retrieve the ring from John Slade, who unfortunately has read the inscription aloud so many times that the curse has now passed onto him, causing him to transform into a bulldog. Finally, Wilby gets elected district attorney, Slade is supposedly jailed (although it is never actually revealed), and Tim gets engaged to Katrinka. Together, they adopt Wilby's dog friends from the pound. 

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Clark Gable and María Elena Marqués in Across the Wide Missouri In the 1830s in the Rocky Mountains, fur trapper Flint Mitchell meets at the summer "rendezvous" with other mountain men, cashing in his furs, drinking, and enjoying contests among his friends. He organizes a hunting "brigade" into the beaver-rich Blackfoot territory, buying horses and recruiting trappers, despite protests from his Scottish friend and former trading partner, Brecan, who lives among the Blackfoot and warns him that the land belongs to them. Flint outbids Brecan for Kamiah, the granddaughter of Blackfoot medicine man Bear Ghost and adopted daughter of a Nez Perce chief, Looking Glass. Brecan wants to return her to the Blackfoot, to promote peace between the tribes, while Flint wants to marry Kamiah and ensure the brigade's safety. Pierre, a French Canadian trapper, and Captain Humberstone Lyon, another Scotsman, who fought in the Battle of Waterloo, join Flint on the dangerous expedition. Kamiah successfully guides Flint and his men on their trek through the high passes filled with crippling snow drifts, and delivers them to the Blackfoot territory, where they build a stockade. Flint narrowly escapes capture and death at the hands of Ironshirt, a young Blackfoot prince and war chief, who kills Baptiste DuNord, one of Flint's best trappers. Ironshirt steals the brigade's horses, but Flint impresses Bear Ghost, who orders them returned. Though he marries Kamiah for reasons other than love and cannot speak her language, Flint falls in love with her. As Flint and Kamiah grow closer, Flint and Bear Ghost become good friends. Bear Ghost prevents Ironshirt from harming Flint and his men, but catastrophe strikes when Roy DuNord, another of Flint's men, kills Bear Ghost to avenge his brother's death. Although Brecan kills Roy, and Flint sinks into a grieving depression over the death of Bear Ghost, Ironshirt succeeds Bear Ghost as chief and resumes his campaign to drive the white trappers out of his country. In the spring, Kamiah gives birth to a boy, Chip. On the way to the rendezvous, the brigade is attacked by a large war party under Ironshirt, and Kamiah is killed. With Chip strapped to its back, Kamiah's horse bolts during the attack and is chased by Ironshirt, who is intent on killing the boy. Flint manages to kill Ironshirt, however, and rescue his son. As the years pass, Flint takes Chip to live in the Blackfoot camp, where, Flint believes, Kamiah would have wanted him. Although Flint intends to have the boy formally educated in the East, Chip persuades him year after year to postpone his schooling, and he learns the ways of the mountains from his father. 

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Raoul de Cambrai, the posthumous son of Raoul Taillefer, count of Cambrai, by his wife Alais, sister of King Louis d'Outre-Mer, whose father's lands had been given to another, demanded the fief of Vermandois, which was the natural inheritance of the four sons of Herbert, lord of Vermandois. On King Louis's refusal, he proceeded to war. The chief hero on the Vermandois side was Bernier, a grandson of Count Herbert, who had been the squire and firm adherent of Raoul, until he was driven into opposition by the fate of his mother, burned with the nuns in the church of Origny. Bernier eventually slew the terrible Raoul in single fight, but in his turn was slain, after an apparent reconciliation, and the blood-feud was left for his sons. 

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Roland (Taye Diggs) is getting married and is currently missing. Slim (Richard T. Jones), who scoffs at the idea of marriage, is furious at Roland for disappearing. The story flashes back to Mike (Omar Epps) as a youth (Sean Nelson) when he first encounters Roland (Trent Cameron) and Slim (Duane Finley), his first real crush on a girl Alicia (Malinda Williams), and the three young men's misadventures as teenagers growing up in 1980s Inglewood, California ("The Wood"). Shy and awkward, Mike is quickly befriended by Slim and Roland. On a dare from Slim and Roland, Mike reluctantly grabs Alicia's butt, leading to a physical altercation with her older brother Stacey (De'Aundre Bonds), a Blood gang member. While he is beaten up, Mike earns Stacey's private respect for having courage to fight back. Meanwhile, in present day, Mike and Slim get a call from Tanya (Tamala Jones), an ex-girlfriend of Roland's, saying that Roland is at her house, extremely drunk. When they arrive, they argue with Roland for putting his relationship at risk, as the wedding is just hours away. Flashing back to the '80s, the boys are on their way to the first dance of the year, stopping at a convenience store that gets held up by Stacey. Stacey recognizes the boys and offers them a ride to the dance. The group is nearly arrested after being pulled over for a broken tail light. Mike's quick thinking prevents one of the cops from finding Stacey's gun and they are let go when the cops respond to a call about the stick-up Stacey and his friend just committed. Impressed, Stacey begins a new friendship with Mike by apologizing for their prior run- in. However, he explains that he was protecting his sister, and, seeing how much Mike likes her, gives him advice on how to win her over. When they arrive at the dance, it is almost over, but Mike is able to secure a dance with Alicia and also get her number. Later, Mike and Alicia date for a time before breaking up and remaining friends. In the present day, while reminiscing, Roland becomes sick and accidentally vomits on Slim and Mike. Now, the men only have an hour left before the wedding and they have to get cleaned up, so they take their clothes to the cleaners. Mike, returning to their memories when they were juniors in high school, remembers them thinking about sex, ways to get it and making a lot of bets as to who has it first. Mike has a girlfriend and Alicia has a boyfriend. Despite both of them already being in a relationship with somebody else, one day Mike and Alicia walk to her house from the library talking about the Homecoming dance. They hear "If This World Were Mine" on the radio, the song to which they had the first dance. Alicia and Mike begin getting intimate, but Alicia stops him and tells Mike to retrieve a condom from Stacey's room. Mike finds a condom in Stacey's room, but before he can leave, has to hide under his bed, so as not to get caught when Stacey and his girlfriend come home. After they leave, Mike goes back to Alicia's room and they finally make love. Mike wins the bet, but he doesn't tell Roland and Slim out of respect for Alicia. It's revealed in the present that after high school, Alicia and Mike went their separate ways. The boys finally make it to the wedding and Roland apologizes to a furious Lisa for leaving her worried. Before the ceremony begins, Mike has a fond exchange with a now-grown Alicia (Sanaa Lathan). Roland and Lisa get married. Mike reminisces on the Homecoming dance, declaring that he, Roland and Slim will be the boys from "The Wood". 

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The player character is a member of an elite police squadron called Delta Patrol, commanding a battle cruiser in the Delta Sector of space. The Delta Sector's dangers include lost ships, alien bandits, and unknown forces of destruction, and the character's assignment is to terminate the enemy forces that hide within them. Destroying an entire wave of attacking aliens earns credits that the player may use to buy weapons and ship modifications. 

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May Canady is a woman in her mid-twenties, who suffered from a troubled childhood due to her lazy eye. She has very few social interactions, her only "true friend" being a glass-encased doll named Suzie made by her mother and given to May for her birthday with the adage "If you can't find a friend, make one." May works as a vet assistant. Her optometrist fixes May's lazy eye, first with glasses, then with contact lens. May becomes friends with Adam, a local mechanic. She has a fixation on his hands, which she considers to be the most attractive part of him, and they start dating. May's lesbian colleague, Polly, begins to flirt with May. One day, May remarks that Polly has a beautiful neck. During their flirtation, Polly gives May a pet cat, Lupe. May invites Adam to her apartment and he shows her a film that he made for his university titled Jack and Jill. The film reveals a story of two young lovers, who go on a picnic, and end up eating each other. May becomes aroused by the cannibalism in the film. During an intense make-out session, she bites Adam on the lip, and it bleeds. Disturbed, Adam abruptly leaves. May shouts at Suzie and shoves her in the cupboard. She begins volunteering at a school for blind children, where she takes a liking to a sullen young girl named Petey, who makes her a clay ashtray with the name "MAY" pressed into it. She gives in to Polly's advances and starts a short affair. Adam stops calling her and May overhears him say that he is glad he could get rid of her. Devastated, she visits Polly, but finds her with another girl named Ambrosia, furthering May's grief. When even Lupe refuses to come near her, May becomes enraged and throws Petey's ashtray at her, killing the cat and shattering the ashtray. She becomes delusional, and believes that Suzie is talking to her. May takes Suzie to school and tells the blind children that Suzie is her best friend. The children struggle to take the doll out of the glass case, and the case shatters. May and the children are cut by the broken glass. Scooping up the ruined doll, May returns home devastated. The following day, she meets a young punk. He asks her if she wants to get some candy with him, and she accepts. May does not admire him very much, but likes the tattoo on his arm. At her house, he finds the cat's corpse, and calls May a freak. May breaks down and stabs him in the head, killing him. After putting much thought into her future actions, May claims she needs ”more parts.” On Halloween night, May dresses in a homemade costume resembling Suzie, adopts a normal personality, and goes to Polly's house, where she slits her throat with a pair of surgical scalpels. When Ambrosia arrives, May stabs her in the temples. Next, she visits Adam and his new girlfriend at his house. May murders both of them with the scalpels. At home, she designs her "new friend", a life-sized patchwork doll made from the punk's arms, Polly's neck, Ambrosia's legs, Adam's hands, his girlfriend's ears, and Lupe's fur for the hair. Using the broken remnants of the "MAY" ashtray to form an anagram, she names the doll "Amy". She realizes that Amy has no eyes and cannot "see" her, so she gouges out her lazy eye. Crying in pain and bleeding, she puts the eye on Amy's head and begs the doll to look at her. She collapses on the bed beside the doll, and caresses it. Her creation comes to life, and brushes her face affectionately with Adam's hands. 

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Local radio station KOZY 102.1 is sponsoring a "Halloween Haunt" featuring an appearance by real-life nu metal band Korn. Priest Maxi is unhappy about both and conducts a one-man protest campaign, calling Halloween an abomination of God and Korn Satanists that play violent music. Stan, Kyle, and Kenny are excited about Halloween, but Cartman is already thinking about Christmas because he expects to be showered with presents. They visit various mediocre attractions and get frightened by a gang of fifth-graders who play a prank on them involving "pirate ghosts". Stan decides to retaliate by digging up Kyle's recently buried grandmother, Cleo Broflovski, and scaring the fifth- graders with it. Kyle, while uneasy about the scheme, reluctantly agrees to go along. Meanwhile, Korn, driving in a van which resembles the Mystery Machine, crash it after spotting pirate ghosts on the road. After digging up Cleo's corpse, the boys leave it barely concealed at the harbor, where it is promptly eaten by a stray dog. During the night, they meet Korn (and a Scooby-Doo-like character, Nibblet) after their encounter with the pirate ghosts. The following morning, the graveyard's watchmen inform Mrs. Broflovski about the missing corpse, and describe to her in graphic detail what the culprit, who they assume to be a necrophiliac, might be doing to the corpse. Cartman intercepts a life-sized blow-up Antonio Banderas sex doll ordered by his mother, which he mistakenly assumes to be a Christmas present for him, and takes it around town to show off. The boys return to the docks in their costumes hoping to win the contest for best costume, with Kenny wearing an elaborate costume of the ED-209 robot from RoboCop. To Kenny's disappointment, everyone (including Korn) is able to clearly recognize him. At the town square, the grave watchers are explaining the concept of necrophilia very explicitly until the Pirate Ghosts show up and terrorize the town. A few citizens are blown up and one ghost decapitates two others. Priest Maxi shows up and blames Korn for causing all this trouble. The town gets angry and set up a lynch mob to get rid of the "devil worshipers." Korn and the boys go investigate the "Mystery of the Pirate Ghosts and the missing body." After a few mishaps typical of Scooby-Doo episodes, it is revealed that Priest Maxi was behind the Pirate Ghosts, which he simply conjured up with rather impossible light tricks and sounds (the explanation to some of the citizen's deaths earlier caused by the Pirate Ghosts is left unsolved and unknown). The mystery of Cleo Broflovski's missing corpse is solved when the dog regurgitates the body. The Halloween Haunt goes as planned, with Korn playing "Falling Away from Me" which shocks the crowd, as their cheery personality in the episode is a strong contrast to the song. The boys get their revenge against the fifth-graders while Korn is playing, scaring them with the corpse and Cartman's Antonio Banderas doll gets popped by Nibblet. Kenny's spectacular ED-209 costume does not win him first prize, which goes instead to Wendy Testaburger wearing the same Chewbacca costume as in the previous first- season Halloween special "Pinkeye". During the closing credits, Kenny ends up getting killed by miniature Snowspeeders as in The Empire Strikes Back while inside his costume and rats arrive to eat his body. 

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Millions of years ago, creatures known as Sarnathians ruled the Earth, centring their values on torture of other creatures that were opposed to their rule. Their aim was to rule the universe using a mysterious orb that granted them great power. Thousands of years later, the orb became too powerful and eventually caused a tear in the inter-dimensional fabric of the Realm of Reality and the Realm of Unreality, thus rendering the Sarnathians extinct. The orb itself was buried deep in the ground for millions of years, until it was discovered by Karnath, an evil sorcerer. Upon finding the orb, Karnath fused it into his own magical staff, and on doing so learned the history of the Sarnathians. He became obsessed with the orb and the task of releasing these beings from the Realm of Unreality. After years of isolation in his castle, as his own death was drawing near, Karnath was finally able to cast a powerful spell over his staff. This spell was designed such that upon contact with the orb, it would unleash its most powerful state and tear the fabric of reality once more. The staff was then hidden deep below the castle and inscribed with powerful magical symbols to protect it. Before he died, Karnath broke the key into sixteen pieces and hid them throughout his castle. Centuries later, an aristocrat adventurer, Sir Arthur Pendragon, ventures inside the castle in order to defuse the orb before midnight. Should he fail, its power would be unleashed, and the resulting inter-dimensional rip would wipe out the human race. 

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Julie is driving her two teenage children in a red Vauxhall Cavalier Mark III to school. She and her daughter are wearing their seatbelts, but the young son is not. A voiceover announces "Like most victims, Julie knew her killer." On the screen, we see Julie is so concerned with trying to avoid a Ford Transit Mark II which appears to be tailgating her that she's not concentrating on the road ahead. She crashes into a parked car (Vauxhall Astra Mark II) by the side of the road. Her son, who is sitting directly behind her, is thrown forward, killing her instantly as her skull is smashed in by his weight. The film ends as we see her lifeless body slumped across the wheel and hear the horrified screams of her daughter in the front passenger seat while her son slumps back into his seat suffering from a nasal fracture and begins to bleed profusely from his nose, confused as to what just happened. 

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Robert is a young boy who suffers from mathematical anxiety due to his boredom in school. His mother is Mrs. Wilson. He also experiences recurring dreams—including falling down an endless slide or being eaten by a giant fish—but is interrupted from this sleep habit one night by a small devil creature who introduces himself as the Number Devil. Although there are many Number Devils (from Number Heaven), Robert only knows him as the Number Devil before learning of his actual name, Teplotaxl, later in the story. Over the course of twelve dreams, the Number Devil teaches Robert mathematical principles. On the first night, the Number Devil appears to Robert in an oversized world and introduces the number one. The next night, the Number Devil emerges in a forest of trees shaped like "ones" and explains the necessity of the number zero, negative numbers, and introduces hopping, a fictional term to describe exponentiation. On the third night, the Number Devil brings Robert to a cave and reveals how prima-donna numbers (prime numbers) can only be divided by themselves and one without a remainder. Later, on the fourth night, the Number Devil teaches Robert about rutabagas, another fictional term to depict square roots, at a beach. An illustration by Rotraut Susanne Berner depicts the Number Devil showing a mathematical proof to Robert. For a time after the fourth night, Robert cannot find the Number Devil in his dreams; later, however, on the fifth night, Robert finds himself at a desert where the Number Devil teaches him about triangular numbers through the use of coconuts. On the sixth night, the Number Devil teaches Robert about the natural occurrence of Fibonacci numbers, which the Number Devil shortens to Bonacci numbers, by counting brown and white rabbits as they reproduce multiple times. By this dream, Robert's mother has noticed a visible change in Robert's mathematical interest, and Robert begins going to sleep earlier to encounter the Number Devil. The seventh night brings Robert to a bare, white room, where the Number Devil presents Pascal's triangle and the patterns that the triangular array displays. On the eighth night, Robert is brought to his classroom at school. The Number Devil arranges Robert's classmates in multiple ways, teaches him about permutations, and what the Number Devil calls vroom numbers (factorials). On the ninth night, Robert dreams he is in bed, suffering from the flu, when the Number Devil appears next to him. The Number Devil teaches Robert about natural numbers, which the Number Devil calls garden-variety numbers, the unusual characteristics of infinite, and infinite series. Robert finds himself at the North Pole, where the Number Devil introduces irrational numbers (unreasonable numbers), as well as aspects of Euclidean geometry, such as vertices (dots) and edges (lines). By the eleventh night, Robert has shown considerable increased interest in mathematics, but questions its validity, to which the Number Devil introduces the concept of mathematical proofs, ending with the Number Devil showing Robert a complicated proof of basic arithmetic. On the twelfth night, Robert and the Number Devil receive an invitation (which names the Number Devil as Teplotaxl) to Number Heaven, as Robert's time with the Number Devil has finished. At Number Heaven, Robert learns of imaginary numbers, which Teplotaxl describes as imaginative numbers, as well as the Klein bottle. Walking through Number Heaven, Teplotaxl introduces Robert to various famous mathematicians, such as Fibonacci, whom Teplotaxl calls Bonacci, and George Cantor, or Professor Singer. The book ends with Robert in class using his newfound mathematical knowledge. 

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Small-time promoter/hustler Marvin Lazar (Curtis) sees a potential money-making venture in the Bears that will help him to pay off his debts. After seeing a TV spot about the Bears, he decides to chaperone the baseball team for a trip to Japan in their game against the country's best little league baseball team. As implied in Breaking Training, the Bears had to defeat the Houston Toros for a shot at the Japanese champs. In the process, the trip sparks off a series of adventures and mishaps for the boys. A subplot involves the interest of Kelly Leak (Haley) in a local Japanese girl, and the cultural divide that comes to bear in that relationship. About half of the original or "classic" lineup of Bears players return (many like Jose Agilar, Alfred Ogilvie, Timmy Lupus and Tanner Boyle are not featured). Three new players are featured: E.R.W. Tillyard III, Abe Bernstein and Ahmad's younger brother, Mustapha Rahim. 

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The film recreates the ambiance of the era and invokes the hopes inspired by Kennedy through the use of actual broadcast and newsfilm footage of the senator intercut with dramatic sequences involving mostly fictional characters. It uses an ensemble plot device similar to that employed in the 1932 film Grand Hotel, and by Robert Altman in Nashville. The characters include John Casey, a retired hotel doorman who spends his days playing chess with his friend Nelson in the lobby; Diane, who is marrying her friend William with the hope his marital status will have him deployed to a military base in Germany rather than the battlefields of Vietnam when his tour of duty begins; Virginia Fallon, an alcoholic singer whose career is on the downswing, her put-upon husband/manager Tim, and her agent Phil; Miriam Ebbers, a beautician who works in the hotel salon, and her husband Paul, the hotel manager, who is having an affair with switchboard operator Angela; food and beverage manager Daryl Timmons, whose racist attitude gets him fired; African American sous chef Edward Robinson and Mexican American busboys José and Miguel; hotel coffee shop waitress Susan; Jimmy and Cooper, campaign volunteers who are sidetracked by an acid trip they take with the help of drug dealer Fisher; married socialites and campaign donors Samantha and Jack; campaign manager Wade and staffer Dwayne, who is in love with Angela's colleague, Patricia; and Czechoslovakian reporter Lenka Janáčková, who is determined to get an interview with Kennedy. At the end of the film, Kennedy is shot after giving his acceptance speech. A man named Sirhan Sirhan would be convicted of the killing. After being shot, Kennedy is cradled and protected by Jose until help arrives. As Kennedy's speech "On the Mindless Menace of Violence," delivered in 1968 to the City Club of Cleveland, Ohio, is played over the aftermath, it is revealed that Samantha, Daryl, Cooper, Jimmy and William are among those injured by Sirhan's wild firing. Sirhan is apprehended, while Kennedy is rushed into an ambulance (as are the others eventually), and everyone else is moved by the events that have just taken place. Closing titles reveal that Kennedy died of his injuries the following morning with his wife Ethel at his side, and the other victims of the shooting survived. 

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Penny (Rachel Miner), a young woman traumatized by a childhood auto accident that killed her parents, accompanies her therapist Orianna (Mimi Rogers) on a road trip to a mountain community as part of her therapy to overcome her fear of cars. On the way, Orianna hits, but does not seriously injure, a hitchhiker, who she then offers a ride. The hitchhiker is silent during the ride, except to point out his destination. After dropping off the hitchhiker, they discover that he has punctured one of the tires. Orianna sets off to get reception for her cell phone but fails to return. Penny goes off to find Orianna but trips and falls, having injured her ankle earlier. When she wakes up, she's back in the car, which has been wedged between two trees. Orianna, whose death has been recorded on a video camera, is beside her. Penny tries to call for help, but the hitchhiker continues to terrorize and torture her. Several people who live and work nearby are killed by the hitchhiker when they attempt to help her or to get in his way. Penny is tortured for another few hours; and, when she tries to crawl out of the car window, the hitchhiker grabs her right foot and cuts off one of her toes. After finally falling asleep, she turns around to find the hitchhiker sitting in the back wearing Orianna's clothes, who then pulls off the hood (revealing to be a demented female mental patient) and tries to strangle her while saying, "Don't forget your breathing exercises, Penny." She manages to fight off the hitchhiker by stabbing her in the eye with a pencil and escape from the car, only to trip from her injured foot. The hitchhiker finds her and tries to attack, but a man driving a pick-up truck drives past in time to hit the hitchhiker. The hitchhiker appears to be dead at this point, and the truck driver is panicking. He tells Penny to wait in the vehicle while he assists the hitchhiker. Penny feels a bit of relief as she watches the man and the dead hitchhiker. But terror boils up when she realizes the hitchhiker is still moving. 

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On December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman shocked the world by murdering 40-year-old musician and activist, John Lennon, outside The Dakota, his New York apartment building. Chapman's motives were fabricated from pure delusion, fueled by an obsession with the fictional character Holden Caulfield and his similar misadventures in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In one instant, an anonymous, socially awkward and mentally unstable 25-year-old fan of The Beatles, who had fluctuated between idealizing Lennon and being overcome with a desire to kill him, altered the course of the history of music. A man whose painfully restless mind thrashes about uncontrollably between paranoia, sociopathic lying and delusion is summed up in such character revealing comments as "I'm too vulnerable for a world full of pain and lies" and "Everyone is cracked and broken. You have to find something to fix you. To give you what you need. To make you whole again." From his lies to cab drivers (identifying himself as The Beatles' sound engineer) to his socially unacceptable behavior around Jude, a young fan he meets outside The Dakota, to his argument with paparazzi photographer Paul, Chapman keeps the psychoses bubbling below the surface as his grasp on reality deteriorates into a completely misguided rage. 

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The film, starring Emma Thompson in the title role, focuses on her unusual relationship with the author Lytton Strachey, played by Jonathan Pryce, as well as with other members of the Bloomsbury Group. The film is divided into 6 chapters. The Mill at Tidmarsh, a 1918 painting by Carrington of the Mill House, Tidmarsh, Pangbourne, on the upper Thames # Lytton & Carrington 1915: During the Great War, Lytton Strachey is travelling to the country and staying at Vanessa Bell's house. There he meets Carrington for the first time but initially thinks she is a boy and does not hide his disappointment when disabused. Lytton is due to face a hearing with the military due to his refusal to enlist. While taking a countryside hike, he tries to kiss Carrington but she refuses him. Early the next morning, she walks into his bedroom intending to cut his beard off in retaliation for the kiss, but stops in contemplation of him sleeping and falls in love with him. # Gertler 1916–1918: Mark Gertler tries to have sex with Carrington, but she refuses, since she thinks that he is only interested in her sexually. Gertler turns to Lytton for aid in wooing her. Carrington falls more deeply in love with Lytton and although he does not fully requite her, he does have feelings for her. While on a trip to Wales, he proposes that they live together: acting on this, Carrington searches for a house and finds and refurbishes Mill House in Tidmarsh. When Gertler finds out that Carrington and Lytton are moving in together, he attacks them. # Partridge 1918–1921: Carrington meets Ralph Partridge, who has come back from the war. During their first dinner, Ralph expresses his contempt of pacifists; nevertheless the rugged man has great appeal to Lytton. Lytton is successful in the publication of Eminent Victorians. Lytton goes on vacation to Italy. Ralph has made clear his intent of either marrying Carrington or emigrating to Bolivia to run a sheep farm. Knowing that, if Ralph is no longer with him, Lytton will move out of Mill House, Carrington marries Ralph and writes Lytton a poignant letter confessing her love for him and her knowledge that it is hopeless. On their honeymoon, Carrington and Ralph meet with Lytton in Venice. # Brenan 1921–1923 Ralph introduces his friend Gerald Brenan to Lytton and Carrington. Brenan is planning to leave for Spain in order to improve his education and takes a liking to Carrington, which is mutual. He demands she leave Lytton to be with him. She refuses but they continue the relationship until they get caught by Ralph. Lytton manages to persuade Ralph not to leave Carrington and secretly Carrington and Brenan to continue their affair until it ends by itself. # Ham Spray House 1924–1931: Lytton, now wealthy and famous, buys Ham Spray House and moves in with Carrington and Ralph. Ralph has begun a relationship with Frances Marshall, and Lytton is in one with Roger Stenhouse, a younger man from Oxford, while Carrington is having an affair with Beacus Penrose, a strapping seaman with little to say who tries to change Carrington to fit his fantasies, although he admits he is not attracted to her sexually. Carrington becomes pregnant by Beacus but has an abortion. Lytton takes an apartment in London where he intends to live with Roger, but it becomes clear that the relationship will not last. # Lytton 1931–1932: Roger and Lytton break up. During a tea party Lytton becomes ill; Carrington initially is optimistic but it becomes evident that his illness is terminal. Carrington tries to commit suicide by locking herself in the garage with the car motor running but is rescued by Ralph. When Lytton finally dies, attended by Ralph, Carrington and Gerald, he states "If this is dying, I don't think much of it." Carrington is devastated but manages to convince Ralph and Frances that she is all right and simply needs to be alone. Once they have left, she burns all of Lytton's personal possessions, and shoots herself. 

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Karen Newman feels like her world is coming undone and has soured on the idea of marriage. In her diary, she gives each day a letter grade; lately, her days have not been graded higher than a C-minus. She is overjoyed to learn that her sixth grade teacher will be Miss Pace, a nice and popular teacher, but when the first day of school comes, she is crushed to find that Miss Pace, after getting married over the summer and is now Mrs. Singer, has become what Karen describes as a "witch." Worse yet, her parents, Bill and Ellie, who have been quarreling more and more each day, announce that they are splitting up. Bill moves out of the family home and plans to go to Las Vegas to file for divorce, much to Ellie's delight and Karen's consternation. When Karen's brother, Jeff, finds out that Bill is going to Las Vegas, he argues with Ellie and runs away. Bill postpones his trip to Las Vegas to help find Jeff, which, instead of bringing him closer to Ellie, causes him to quarrel with her even more violently than before. Jeff eventually returns on his own, ending the crisis, but not the animosity. Karen tries every possible way she can think of to stop the divorce from happening, including sending anniversary cards and feigning illness, but her efforts are ultimately fruitless. She does this because, there is a streak run by her family for not getting a divorce. She does not want to let her grandparents down. At the end, Karen decides that, in spite of her parents' impending divorce, things will get better. The last diary entry in the book has Karen giving the day a B-plus. 

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Myrl Redding (John Cusack) is an honest hard-working horse trader who cherishes the law and his rights. He lives a normal life with his son, Cage (Drake Bell), his wife Cora (Miranda Otto) and his good friends. However he clashed one day with land baron Henry Ballard (L. Q. Jones) over Wyoming's bid for statehood. If Wyoming remains a territory, Henry Ballard can continue to buy more land and eventually evict its residents; however if Wyoming becomes a state then his rights to the land will be restricted. After further conflict with Ballard, Redding attempts to take his horses to a horse market in Casper. However he encounters Ballard, who has built a tollgate that blocks the road to Casper, charging a fee for passage. Redding realizes going around would take too long to get the horses to market on time, with the market closed before he could arrive. Ballard tells Redding that he will allow Redding to cross with a fee of ten dollars. Redding gives him five and leaves two black stallions as collateral for the other five. He also leaves his Indian friend and worker Billy to make sure the horses are not mistreated. Redding arrives at Casper on time and sells his horses, with the exception of the two he left behind and makes his way back to his home. He stops for his horses and finds Billy is missing and his horses are starved, diseased, beaten, and near death. He beats one of Ballard's henchmen and demands that his horses be returned healthy and fed. Ballard says he'll never do it and Redding leaves, saying he has two weeks to comply with his demands. Ballard ignores him and returns to his normal life. Redding returns home and finds Billy beaten and bitten. Billy describes how one of Ballard's henchmen had the two horses chained to a wagon of logs and was beating them when they rested even though they had been working for hours. Billy attempted to stop him but he was attacked by two other henchmen who then set the dogs on him. He said he was forced to flee and would've been killed if he had returned. Redding agrees with Billy and sympathizes with him, telling him it was not his fault for what happened to the horses. He departs that day for the local town and approaches the local lawyer and asks for legal help. The lawyer tells Redding he will probably not win because it is an Indian's word against a wealthy white man's. Redding says to do it anyway and leaves after paying ten dollars in lawyer fees. A week passes and nothing happens, and Redding tells his lawyer to speed up the case. The lawyer intercepts Judge Wilkins, the local judge, on the way to the barber and pleads for a chance to make their case. Wilkins, who has a financial interest in Ballard's business, tells them that he is throwing the case out and advises the lawyer to choose his clients more carefully, stating "You're shoveling shit out of the mountain." The lawyer informs Redding about Judge Wilkins decision and after his wife finds out she tells Redding that she is good friends with the District Attorney's wife, and she departs for Casper to plead their case before the D.A. She and Woody, Redding's trusted friend, depart for Casper and he drops her off in front of the D.A.'s office. When she arrives at the office she is informed she needs an appointment and she reluctantly leaves after leaving her name. However unknown to her two of Ballard's henchmen had beaten Woody and thrown him into a carriage, knocking the driver off. The wild carriage runs her over as she is crossing the street, making her death a very unfortunate coincidence caused by Ballard's men. Woody gives the documented complaint against Ballard directly to the D.A., who emerges to see what has happened. Woody then drives Cora's body back to Myrl's household where they bury her. To make matters worse, Redding's lawyer returns with news that the D.A. has sent the case back to Judge Wilkins, who has once again thrown the case out. Redding, distraught with the loss of his wife and realizing that the justice system will do nothing to stop Ballard, takes justice into his own hands and rallies the local farmers against Ballard. Although some have doubts, he talks them into joining him with the offer that he will pay each man who joins him fifteen dollars a month. Redding and his new militia of farmers ride towards Ballard's house where they rout Ballard's men and Ballard himself flees for his life for Casper. Redding burns down Ballard's stable and leaves for the local town, looking for Ballard. After questioning a local farmer who refuses to tell them Ballard's location, he burns down the farmer's barn and leaves the barn smoldering. They then ride to a local Amish community and threaten to burn down the houses if they hide Ballard or refuse to give them the location. After the Amish people tell him they don't even know Ballard, he asks for a person who knows how to print. They find one and offer him fifteen dollars to mass-produce fliers demanding Ballard that he has a week to get the horses fed and healthy. Ballard meanwhile, had reached Casper and pleads for help from the Governor of Wyoming himself. The Governor offers protection and charges the Sheriff to find and arrest Redding. But after only a day of searching, the Sheriff is ambushed during the night and during a brief struggle Redding kills one of Ballard's men, Slater, after he attempts to shoot Billy. He forces the sheriff at gunpoint to say that it was self-defense, and after Redding departs the Sheriff returns to Casper and tells news that Slater was shot dead by Redding. Meanwhile Billy, while riding back to Ballard's house is shot by its caretaker Conrad. After a brief firefight Conrad shoots his wife by accident and Billy and Redding leave. Meanwhile the Governor, after conversing with Judge Joe B. Tolliver (John Goodman) and the Attorney General decides to offer Redding amnesty if he turns himself in. Redding accepts but Billy doesn't, saying that land Ballard took belonged to his native tribe. Billy leaves and Redding arrives in Casper to participate in the trial of Henry Ballard. During the trial however the D.A.'s assistant informs them that Judge Wilkins is charging Redding with two counts of murder and armed insurrection. However the amnesty agreement was typed before the charges were sent, putting the Governor in a bind. If he charges Redding, he will break the amnesty agreement, but if he doesn't charge Redding, he will be violating a judge's charges. The governor decides he will charge Redding if he breaks the amnesty agreement. The trial ends after several witnesses testify that the horses were indeed healthy stallions although Ballard testifies otherwise. Judge Tolliver agrees with Redding and orders Ballard to restore the horses to their previous health. Meanwhile, Billy has sued Ballard for the land rights but is losing, so he sends a messenger to Redding in an attempt to gain leverage over Ballard. Redding writes a letter of support but the messenger is ambushed while leaving Redding's hotel. The letter is used as proof to show Redding has violated his amnesty and he is charged with two counts of murder and armed insurrection. He is found guilty of one count of murder and armed insurrection at the same time that Billy and his Indians are ambushed by the Wyoming Army. Redding is sentenced to be hanged and Ballard is charged with perjury for lying under oath and sentenced to two years in jail, three months of which will be spent restoring the two stallions' health. Further consequence is that Ballard will lose his life savings. On the day of the hanging, Redding meets with his son and tells him to always work hard and never give up. After a heartfelt goodbye, Redding is called to inspect the two horses. After confirming that they have been restored, Ballard curses him and claims Redding got nothing from Ballard. Redding replies simply, "You did what I said you would." Ballard is carried away screaming and Redding is marched to the gallows. Judge Tolliver, who seems compassionate toward Redding and his principles, finds Judge Wilkins in a bar. Tolliver angrily berates him for charging an innocent man with murder. He then says that he has sent a letter to the governor asking for a committee, that he'll oversee, to review Wilkins' ability to be a judge, and says he hopes the committee will find Wilkins unfit and that articles of impeachment will be filed to remove Wilkins as a judge. Judge Wilkins, obviously distraught, attempts to order a drink, to which the bartender replies, "Ten dollars a shot", mocking the judge about how Ballard charged Redding ten dollars to cross the land and how Wilkins did nothing about it. The bartender leaves Wilkins miserable and dishonored. Redding walks to the gallows but not before being hugged by his son and another heartfelt goodbye. He is hanged and various clips show. One is of his son, Cage and Woody leading the two stallions along with Redding's body away from the city back home. Another shows the Wyoming marching band parading down the street announcing Wyoming has become a state. 

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A constant and verbose off-camera narrator guides the viewer through the life of a tomato. Beginning at Mr Suzuki's tomato field, the tomato is then sold to a supermarket, where it is acquired by Mrs Anete, a perfume salesperson, together with some pork. Each exchange requires the presence of money, which is, together with the tomato, the constant element in the story. Mrs Anete intends to prepare a tomato sauce for the pork, but, having considered one of Mr Suzuki's tomatoes inadequate, she throws it in the garbage. Together with the rest of the garbage, the tomato is taken to Isle of Flowers (Ilha das Flores), Porto Alegre's landfill. There, the organic material considered adequate is selected as food for pigs. The rest, which is considered inadequate for the pigs, is given to poor women and children to eat. 

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Spring Snow starts in 1912, as Emperor Taishō begins his short reign and Japan's upper classes (kazoku) are mimicking the tastes and manners of Europe's aristocrats. Among them are two children, Kiyoaki Matsugae (Satoshi Tsumabuki) who is the only son of the Marquess Matsugae and Satoko Ayakura (Yūko Takeuchi) who is the only daughter of the Earl Ayakura. Even as a child, Satoko had romantic aspirations for her friendship with Kiyoaki. However, her father (Kenjirō Ishimaru), wary of the womanizing ways of Kiyoaki's father (Takaaki Enoki), fears for his daughter's involvement. He instructs her tutor, Tadeshina (Michiyo Ōkusu), to ensure the girl's heart is not broken. A decade later, as Kiyoaki is finishing Gakushūin high school, the beautiful and eligible Satoko is still stuck on her childhood sweetheart. To avoid her, Kiyoaki playfully considers setting her up with his uptight school friend, Shigekuni Honda (Sousuke Takaoka), and writes a lurid confession of frequent trips to Tokyo's entertainment (the theatre of Goethe's Faust) quarter, then posts the letter to Satoko before Shigekuni can stop him. That evening, Kiyoaki has second thoughts, and requests the letter be destroyed, as his decadent adventures were fabrications. 

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After the death of her aunt, the protagonist Charlotte and her cousin, her aunt’s stepson Arthur Prime, find a tin of imitation jewelry which includes a string of pearls. Charlotte is immediately fascinated with the pearls, and wonders if they could be a gift from when her aunt was an actress. Arthur disputes this and is insulted at the thought of some gentleman other than his father giving his stepmother such a gift. Charlotte quickly apologizes and agrees that the pearls could be nothing more than paste. With Arthur’s enthusiastic approval, she keeps the jewelry in memory of her aunt. When Charlotte returns to her governess job, her friend, Mrs. Guy, asks her if she has anything to add color to her dress for an upcoming party. When Charlotte shows Mrs. Guy the jewelry, she too becomes fascinated with the string of pearls, insisting that they are genuine. Mrs. Guy wears the string to the party; and when Charlotte finds out that everyone believed that they were real, she insists that they must be returned to her cousin. Mrs. Guy claims that it was Arthur's foolishness to have given away the necklace, and that Charlotte should feel no guilt in keeping it. However, Charlotte decides to return the pearls to her cousin, who still refuses to consider the pearls real. A month later Mrs. Guy shows her a wonderful string of pearls, telling Charlotte that they are the same ones that Charlotte had inherited from her aunt. Charlotte is surprised because Arthur claimed he had shattered them, when in fact he had sold them to the store where Mrs. Guy bought them. 

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The player controls Bob, a putto sent by God to clean up the corruption and sin on Earth. The dictator of Earth, Father Prime, is conducting experiments into other dimensions on the dark side of the Moon. Soon after landing on Earth, Bob's existence is deemed illegal and is hunted by police and the military. Father Prime's experiments succeed in bringing Satan into the mortal plane. After making his way through the cyberpunk city Faktur, Bob confronts and defeats Father Prime. Bob is then asked to return by God, telling him that if humans are prepared to tamper with His creations, there is no place for Him on Earth and leave them to their own devices. Bob refuses, and this turns out to be a ruse by Satan to lead Bob astray. After making his way through the industrial parts of the city, Bob infiltrates into a nuclear station and transports himself to the facility on the dark side of the Moon, ultimately confronting and banishing Satan, which destroys the facility. Bob is then thrown onto a barren part of the Moon. Bob repeatably requests God to take him home but is met with silence. 

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During a routine flight to Minneapolis, a passenger (Susan Dey) aboard Global Airways Flight 502, a Boeing 707, discovers a bomb threat written in lipstick on the mirror of a first-class bathroom. Captain Hank O'Hara (Charlton Heston) believes it to be a hoax, but when a second handwritten threat is left on a stewardess's serving tray he is convinced to take the cryptic threats seriously and follows the instructions -- "Bomb on plane divert to Anchorage Alaska. No Joke, No Tricks. Death"—by changing course for Alaska. To avoid an explosive decompression if a bomb goes off, he flies at lower altitude, increasing fuel consumption. The captain ignores a warning by a passenger, a jazz cellist (Roosevelt Grier), that he suspects his erratically behaving seatmate, Sgt. Jerome K. Weber (James Brolin), to be the hijacker. The weather at Anchorage is so poor, a United States Air Force ground-controlled approach specialist (Claude Akins) is called in. His radar shows a small aircraft with radio failure that is approaching the same runway, but Flight 502 has too little fuel to go around. O'Hara sees the other aircraft at the last moment and manages to avoid a collision and land safely. Once on the ground, passengers attempt to disarm Weber, a Vietnam veteran driven insane by war trauma. Whether he has a bomb or not, Weber is certainly armed with guns and grenades and manages to fight off an attempt by other passengers to disarm him and threatens to detonate a grenade in his hand if anyone attempts to interfere with his plans. Weber is taken to the cockpit where he demands the aircraft be refueled. While the hijacker is occupied in assuming control, the lead stewardess (Yvette Mimieux) oversees the escape of the economy-class passengers by emergency slide. Weber becomes outraged but allows the remaining passengers and three stewardesses to leave. He keeps the remaining crew as hostages, and most of the first-class passengers, including a U.S. Senator (Walter Pidgeon) and a pregnant woman (Mariette Hartley) who has gone into premature labor due to the crisis. A federal agent tries to slip on board, but is caught by Weber and becomes another hostage. Weber demands to be flown to Moscow, where he intends to defect to the Soviet Union. Although the Soviets deny clearance into their airspace, the increasingly agitated Weber forces the pilots to continue on. As they enter Soviet airspace, O'Hara orders that the landing gear and flaps be lowered to a full landing configuration and broadcasts their situation to Soviet ground control. The aircraft is surrounded by Soviet fighter jets who eventually escort the plane to the Moscow airport. The hijacked airliner is allowed to land at Moscow, but ordered to stop short of the terminal as armed soldiers surround the plane. The remaining crew and passengers are finally released, leaving O'Hara and Weber as the last ones on board. Weber, who had nursed fantasies of being received by the Soviets as a hero, is jubilant to have seemingly achieved his dreams and gloats to O'Hara that he never even possessed a bomb. But when he realizes the Soviet forces are surrounding the aircraft to attack him and not welcome him, he straps on a bandolier of grenades and prepares to open fire. When O'Hara tries to intervene, Weber shoots him and leads the captain down the airstair to the landing strip. As the soldiers prepare to fire and Weber pulls a pin from a grenade, O'Hara manages to push the hijacker away from him. Weber is shot and lands on his own grenade which detonates killing him instantly. O'Hara survives and is placed on a stretcher. As he gazes skyward, he smiles with relief, spotting another aircraft that has just taken off. 

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Buck O'Brien (Mike White) is a 27-year-old amateur playwright with the maturity level of an adolescent. When Buck's mother dies unexpectedly, he invites his close childhood friend Chuck (Chris Weitz) to the funeral. Chuck (who is now calling himself "Charlie") is a successful music industry exec with a fiancée, Carlyn (Beth Colt). He and Buck experimented sexually with each other when they were 11, but Charlie has repressed these memories and acts as if they had not occurred. Chuck had moved away while they were still children, and Buck has pined after him ever since. During their awkward reunion, Buck makes a sexual advance on Charlie in the bathroom. Charlie rebuffs him, and returns to Los Angeles with Carlyn, but not before extending an obligatory invitation for Buck to visit him there. Buck then withdraws $10,000 from his bank account, packs up his car, and takes up residence in a motel in Los Angeles. He also begins scripting a play on a yellow legal pad: titled "Hank and Frank and the Witch", it is an obvious plea for Charlie's love. Too shy to announce his presence right away, Buck starts trying to see Charlie at his office at Trimorph Entertainment. Buck also surreptitiously follows Charlie to find out where he lives. While standing in front of the playhouse across the street from Charlie's job, he strikes up a conversation with Beverly (Lupe Ontiveros), the house manager. Buck hires Beverly to produce his play, and casts Sam (Paul Weitz), a talentless actor who bears a strong resemblance to Charlie, in the lead. Buck then works up the nerve to approach Charlie and his girlfriend. After being invited to a party that Charlie and Carlyn host, Buck becomes aware of just how far apart he and Chuck have grown; he feels rejected by Charlie's new friends. He also becomes resentful of Carlyn, who he erroneously believes is interfering with their friendship. As a result of this mind-set, Buck's behavior becomes increasingly erratic and obsessive. The end of the film deals with both Chuck and Buck confronting each other over their past. The two have sex, and Buck wants Charlie to stay afterward, but Charlie says they must part ways. Buck is distraught afterward, but eventually realizes he has found a new life at the playhouse. When discussing a play over dinner with Beverly, Buck notices Charlie has arrived with Carlyn. Charlie and Buck exchange glances across the room, but Buck ultimately disregards them and goes back to his conversation. Buck comes to the theater to find an invitation to the wedding. Buck arrives at the wedding party and offers the couple his blessing with his presence. Buck and Carlyn make peace as Buck effectively moves on from his obsession with Charlie and keeps their sexual encounter a secret from Carlyn. 

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Réda (Nicolas Cazalé) is a French-Moroccan teenager due to sit for his Baccalauréat in southern France. When his devout father (played by Mohamed Majd) asks Réda to drive him on a pilgrimage to Mecca, he reluctantly agrees. The route taken by the father and son goes from Provence, France through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan before reaching Saudi Arabia. During this road trip of thousands of kilometers, the once-icy father-and-son relationship starts to thaw. Réda speaks only in French to his father, who is seen speaking only Arabic. Later, the father shows that he speaks impeccable French: his choice to speak only Arabic to his son is, therefore, purposeful. Along the way, the two meet several interesting characters, including an aged woman clad in black who, though they attempt to leave her behind, reappears in various scenes. The son learns about Islam and why his father preferred to go by car rather than plane. Different situations show differences between the father and son. In one instance, for example, after the father claimed to have been robbed, Réda refuses to give any of the remaining money to a begging mother with a child, but his father does so. During their journey, Réda dreams that he is watching his father herding goats and that his father does not respond when he calls for help to be saved from quicksand. After many hardships, they reach Mecca but the father, unknown to Réda, dies shortly after they arrive. That night, Réda goes looking for his father, but instead sees a person herding goats who barely glances at him. After Réda finds out that his father has died, he sells the car and gives the money to a beggar. 

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The film tells the story of a freelance fashion magazine writer named Claire Rocher who meets Elisabeth Becker, an actress. Claire's life soon turns upside down after the actress decides to hire her as personal assistant. 

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The loosely documentary-style film is centered on the experiences of a New York model, who travels from San Diego, California, to an occult center on the island of Maui, Hawaii. While there, "she encounters various devotees of surfing, clairvoyance, zen, yoga, meditation, Tai-Chi and the odd ufoloist". As it unfolds, a free concert by Jimi Hendrix is staged in a former pasture in the upcountry region (2,000 feet above sea level) near Olinda, southeast of the center of the town of Makawao, on the northwest, upcountry slope of Haleakalā. A few hundred island hippies, surfers, and local residents show up to witness the event. Hendrix performed with the post–Jimi Hendrix Experience "Cry of Love" tour group, drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox. A group of Hare Krishnas chanted "Om" for a few minutes and Wein introduced the group. Although Hendrix played two full sets (approximately 50 minutes each), due to technical problems, only about 17 minutes of film footage was deemed usable. 

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Abram lives in Harran, a rich city. His wife Sarah (Barbara Hershey) is childless, and their only heir is Eliezer of Damascus. One day he hears the voice of God, who says that he must leave Haran and travel to an unknown land. God promises to make a great nation from him and renames him Abraham. The pattern for the plot is the Genesis chapters 11–25. 

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The novel consists largely of a series of letters written by its heroine, Emily Barlow, to her friend, Sylvia Carey. When Emily sails from England for India in June 1814 her ship is attacked by Moorish pirates and she is taken to the harem of Ali, dey of Algiers. Ali rapes her and subjects her to his will, awakening her sexual passions. Emily's debasement continues when Ali insists on anal sex, arousing the horror of her correspondent Sylvia, who expresses her indignation at Ali's behaviour, in a letter that the latter intercepts. Annoyed at her attitude, Ali arranges for Sylvia to be abducted and brought to the slave market of Algiers. After an elaborate charade in which Ali pretends to be a sympathetic Frenchman, bidding to save her from sexual slavery, and engaging her in a fake marriage, he deflowers her and awakens her sexuality, as he had done with Emily. Revealing his true identity Ali enjoys both girls together. This sexual idyll is eventually terminated when an addition to the harem objects to anal rape, cuts off Ali's penis with a knife, and then commits suicide.Patrick J. Kearney, "A history of erotic literature", Parragon, 1982, , p.107 Seemingly unfazed by this, Ali has "his lost members preserved in spirits of wine in glass vases" which he presents to Emily and Sylvia, sending them back to England with these tokens of his affection.Marcus (2008) p.203 The novel also incorporates interpolated stories concerning the erotic misadventures of three other girls abducted into the harem, and enlarges on the fate of Emily's maid Eliza who, presented by Ali to Muzra, bey of Tunis, is bound, flogged and raped in turn.Marcus (2008) p.201 The book was one of those condemned as obscene by Lord Chief Justice Campbell when Dugdale was prosecuted in 1857.Sova (2006) p.150 

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Yamazaki Tanpopo moves from Hokkaidō to Tokyo in order to begin high school in an entirely new environment. When she goes to see her new school, Meio Academy, she meets a young man who is replanting a Tanpopo (dandelion) flower. At school the next day, Tanpopo is not only amazed by the modern facilities but also that she is in the same class as the young man she met the day before: Kugyou Kouki, the son of the owner of Meio. When she greets him, Kouki pretends not to know her and she is shocked that he would act so differently from their previous meeting. Meanwhile, the students at the school discover Tanpopo is a commoner from the country side and begin to bully her. In an effort to change the social hierarchy of the school and also find some new friends, Tanpopo cheerfully starts the "Planting Club". Soon, she attracts the attention of students like the insincerely kind Saionji Tsukiko and Kouki, who begins to show his kinder side. However, just as Tanpopo and Kouki's friendship develops and their gardening club grows, secrets of Kugyou family life are revealed. Increasing tensions result as Tanpopo begins to fall in love with Kouki and he reciprocates, though is held back as he is engaged to another girl of the same status. 

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Several children play on a farm while a tea party is prepared. As the farmer drives his tractor through the field where the children are playing, while her friends follow behind, Kim jumps up onto the trailer, pretends the tractor is a wagon train, and shoots at it. The tractor makes a turn, and she falls off and is run over, to the horror of the other children. At their school, the teacher removes Kim's name tag from a storage peg. The children play in the fields again as their parents leave for the tea party. The boys want to play football, but the game changes to kick the can instead. While hiding from Danny, Tom decides to balance on the top of a fence overlooking a slurry pit and falls in. Nobody hears his cries for help, and he suffers a quick death by drowning. The village children are given a day off because of his death, and the class teacher removes the items from Tom's desk. As their parents prepare the children's party, they play at being cavalry and later Apaches. When the game concludes, the children wander into an equipment shed and find a bottle that contains an unnamed chemical. Danny suggests they drink it to celebrate their victories. Michael points out that the can may contain a dangerous chemical (implied to be Paraquat), and they discuss whether it is poisonous. They agree to mime-drink the liquid, but Sharon accidentally swallows some of it. She seems fine once she spits it out, but later she becomes sick. In the middle of that night, she wakes up in excruciating pain, screaming and crying and calling for her mother. In the next scene, her mother is seen clearing out her now-dead daughter's bedroom with a close-up of her now empty bed. Danny comments that he does not understand why adults drink, and his parents pour whisky from a bottle identical to that of the poisonous chemical. The remaining children play in the fields, and Michael narrowly avoids being run over by a tractor like Kim. As they pretend to be the stars of Starsky and Hutch, Michael accidentally dislodges a heavy iron gate that crushes Robert. The remaining two children stare at the lifeless body, shocked, as more people arrive for the party. Danny sets off on his own to find more children, and finds farm workers on their break. Danny requests to sit on their tractor, and they agree as long as he is careful. As he pretends to drive a racing car, he accidentally releases the handbrake and crashes the tractor into a ditch, dying instantly as a result. His parents mourn his loss in his empty bedroom. Danny's coffin is buried as the vicar commits him to the ground, and the mourners move on to the wake. Danny continues his narration after his death, and talks calmly about his family all arriving for the "party" being prepared earlier in the film. Michael, also present, is revealed to be Danny's cousin – the only child not to have been killed by his own reckless behavior, despite Danny having described Michael as "daft". Danny's voice fades into a ghostly echo as he sadly says he wishes he could have gone to the party. Closing credits show a long list of real children who had died in actual farm accidents in the year before the film was made. 

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Two soldiers have been robbed and murdered while guarding a shipment of gold. Into town rides Haven (Dick Powell), a military intelligence officer traveling incognito. When he rides into town, the hotel clerk (Burl Ives) is sitting at the front desk, playing his guitar and singing “a man can't grow old where there's women and gold,” segueing the lyrics into a clear warning to leave town. A beautiful saloon singer (Jane Greer) catches Haven's eye. After he meets Mrs. Caslon (Agnes Moorehead), who owns the gold mine, Haven hears that someone called "Charlie" is the brains behind the scene. He finds out to his surprise that Charlie is the singer. Charlie's lawyer, Bristow (Raymond Burr), is $6,000 in her debt and therefore might be involved in the gold theft. Haven beats up Charlie's saloon bouncer in a fight and is offered a job as transport chief for the gold. Charlie's friend, Prince (Gordon Oliver), meanwhile, is growing jealous of her interest in Haven. While transporting a shipment of gold, the man riding shotgun, Goddard (Regis Toomey), is killed and Haven knocked cold. When he comes to, he manages to track, catch and kill the robber carrying the gold. He shoos away the dead man's horses and follows them to their home stable, at the sawmill owned by Charlie. Haven pretends to be an ignorant hand working for Charlie, and is tasked with transporting the stolen gold in the horses' saddlebags back to town to Charlie and Prince. He hides the gold, and confronts Prince and Charlie. After some to-ing and fro-ing with the gold and an affidavit dictated to Bristow by Haven, Charlie convinces Bristow that he ought to confront Haven. Haven convinces him rather that he is the next target of Prince and Charlie as he knows too much. Bristow, terrified, tries to get away but is shot by Prince. Haven is pinned down, but after persuading the sheriff to arrest him for the crime, Haven escapes, and learns that Charlie's men plan to disguise themselves as soldiers to steal more of Mrs. Caslon's gold. He foils this plot, then arrives back at the saloon, to arrest Charlie, but also because he is in love with her. Prince sneaks up intending to shoot Haven, but his bullet hits Charlie instead. Haven kills Prince. Before she dies, Charlie tells Haven that she loves him, and Haven confesses his love for her. Haven rides away as Burl Ives sings “a man can't grow old where there's women and gold.” 

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The story takes place in the office of Dr. Harper, a psychiatrist, where a man named Lester Billings talks to the doctor about the "murders" of his three young children, describing the events of the past several years. His first two children died mysteriously of apparently unrelated causes (diagnosed as crib death and convulsions, respectively) when left alone in their bedrooms. The only commonalities were that the children cried "Boogeyman!" before being left alone, and the closet door ajar after discovering their corpses, even though Billings is certain the door was shut. Approximately a year after their second child's death, Billings' wife Rita became pregnant with their son Andy and subsequently moved to a different neighborhood far from the old one. A year passes without incident with Andy sleeping in the master bedroom with Billings and Rita. Billings believes that the monster eventually tracked his family down, intruding the house and slithering around at night. Not long after, Rita leaves to take care of her ill mother, leaving Billings and Andy alone. Feeling the malevolent presence growing bolder in his wife's absence, Billings began to panic, and decided to move Andy to a separate bedroom, knowing that it would go for him. That night, Andy cried "Boogeyman!" while being put to bed and, an hour later, is attacked and killed by the Boogeyman. Billings, upon seeing the creature throttling Andy, fled to a local 24-hour diner. He later returned home at dawn, called the police, and discovered Andy's corpse on the floor with the closet door ajar. Billings convinced the police that Andy had attempted to climb out of his crib during the night and broken his neck. As Billings finishes his story and starts to leave, Dr. Harper recommends making future appointments with the nurse. Billings goes to meet the nurse but she is gone. Billings returns to Harper's office, finding it empty as well, with the closet door ajar. The Boogeyman emerges from the closet, casting off its disguise of Dr. Harper. 

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Alba is out running one day when she is kidnapped by a psychiatrist and his patient. They remove Alba to an estate in rural France where she is forced to participate in the patient's entomological fantasies. When Alba goes missing, her adult companion Serge is distraught. He hatches a plot to save her which involves the theft of multiple Rolls-Royces. When a painter comes to the estate to paint Alba in a dragonfly costume, Alba befriends him. Alba manages to escape the estate, but she finds herself traumatized, broke, and lost, with criminals trailing her closely. Eventually Alba and Serge are reunited. 

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Jimbo and Chef visit Mayor McDaniels' office, arguing about the South Park town flag: Jimbo wants to keep it, for it has been around since the time of the town's founding; Chef, however, insists it is racist. The South Park flag depicts four white figures hanging a black one on a gallows, inciting Chef's indignation and leads him to believe that the whole town is racist. Chef immediately starts to rally support in order to change the flag. Neither he nor Jimbo can gather a lot of support, as very few townspeople have strong opinions either way on the issue. In school, the class is assigned to debate the "Change the Flag" issue. Stan and Kyle lead the team that wants to keep the flag the same, while Wendy and Cartman lead the side that wants to change it (with Cartman only volunteering presumably to irritate Wendy). During lunch, Stan and Kyle ask Chef for help, not knowing he had just converted to Islam. Upon hearing that they think that the flag should not be changed, Chef gets agitated and verbally abusive towards the boys, who have no idea why Chef is so upset about the flag. Wendy leads her team in the library when Cartman suddenly interrupts the process with his own strategy. He gets the team to dig up some dirt on Stan and Kyle, hoping to win the debate with ad hominem attacks on their credibility. Meanwhile, Kyle and Stan are at Kyle's father's law office studying how freedom of speech is an issue with the flag. While this is going on, Kenny eats 60 antacid tablets, believing they were mints, and then takes a drink of water, causing him to explode. At the City Hall, members of the KKK march up, loudly voicing their support for the current flag as a symbol of "white power". This causes discomfort amongst Jimbo, Ned, and a number of the other flag supporters: they do not wish to be sided on any issue with the Klan. To remedy this problem, Jimbo and Ned infiltrate the clan and suggest that if they want the flag to remain unchanged, they should advocate that the flag should be changed, because the majority of people will always vote against whatever the Klan wants. The leader embraces the idea, and the Klan switches sides. After Ned and Jimbo escape, they run into Chef while still wearing the Klan robes. Chef, mistakenly believing they are KKK members, drives off in anger before they can explain. The mayor fails to appease Chef by revising the flag so that the man being hanged appears to be smiling, and decides not to make the decision herself. She lets the kids' debate club decide the fate of the flag. This puts a lot of pressure on Wendy, who, in their study sessions, suddenly begins to feel attracted to Cartman. This scares Wendy, because Stan's her boyfriend and she and Cartman actually hate each other. Bebe later explains the concept of sexual tension to her, advising that she should kiss Cartman just to get it out of her system. During the debate, Wendy is distracted because she is attracted to Cartman and cannot deliver her opening remarks. She walks over and kisses him in front of the whole town, breaking the built-up tension and leaving Stan shocked. After this, she is able to continue her standpoint. When the turn of Stan's team comes, Kyle gives their side of the issue by saying that killing is a natural part of life and is not a big deal. When Chef stands up and demands they address the racist aspect of the flag, he and the rest of the adults discover that the children had not even perceived the flag as racist: they saw the flag as a man being hanged without registering his color, and had instead thought that the issue at hand was capital punishment. Chef is touched by this, and, while still acknowledging that he thinks the flag should be changed, he admits that when he believed the whole town was racist and threw the slur "cracker" around, he was the one being racist. Jimbo also apologizes for being on the KKK's side and tells Chef that he has no problem with black people; Chef in return assures Jimbo that he recognizes him as a good man. After Jimbo and Chef decide to come to a compromise, Kyle declares that they do not need to debate anymore, although Stan is still frozen with shock about Wendy kissing Cartman. In the end, ethnic diversity is added to the flag: the black man is now being hanged by a group of people of all races, including another black man. Chef delivers the moral of this story: his inclination to anti-racism almost made him a racist himself, and that perceiving things according to race leads only to further racism. In the final scene, Wendy says that she is glad that everything is over with and that her feelings for Cartman have disappeared. Cartman agrees and laughs nervously. Wendy runs after Stan, calling his name, leaving Cartman completely alone. After a few moments, Cartman sighs and walks away sadly, implying that he might have started to develop genuine feelings for Wendy. 

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For a class presentation, Cartman delivers a hate speech, against what he calls "gingers": people with red hair, freckles, and pale skin due to an alleged disease called "Gingervitis". He describes them as being disgusting, inhuman, unable to survive in sunlight, and having no souls. When Kyle points out that he too has red hair, Cartman says that there is a second class of redheads, the "daywalkers", who have red hair but not pale skin and freckles. In Kyle's attempt to prove Cartman wrong, he decides to do a presentation countering Cartman's facts, arguing that being a "ginger kid" is an inheritable trait. To prove this, Kyle and Stan visit a family who have redhead children. To their shock, the non-Ginger parents of the Ginger kids, who each carry a recessive gene that has caused them to have Ginger kids, possess the same prejudice towards Ginger kids as Cartman. The father of the Ginger kids informs Kyle that marrying an Asian woman ensures that the recessive gene is not passed down, and mentions a friend who is marrying an Asian woman for that reason. When Kyle makes his presentation, Cartman stands up for his claims and uses Biblical references, alleging that Judas Iscariot was a Ginger. As a result, Cartman's speech causes a new-found prejudice towards Ginger kids in the school. The gingers are treated as outcasts and forced to eat in the hallway rather than the cafeteria. Stan, Kyle, and Kenny agree that they need to teach Cartman a lesson. At night, the three sneak into Cartman's room and use skin bleach to make his skin pale, dye his hair red, and put Henna tattoos of freckles on his face. Cartman wakes up in the morning to discover that he now has the disease "gingervitis" and has become a Ginger himself. Cartman is taken to the doctor, who turns out to be prejudiced himself and soon insults him, even suggesting that Mrs. Cartman have him put down, which she considers. At school, Cartman is laughed at by Butters, and faces discrimination from the very people he himself convinced to despise Gingers. He is forced to join the gingers in eating in the hallway despite his attempts to convince them that he is still who he was. In response to this, Cartman establishes the "Ginger Separatist Movement" to promote the better aspects of being ginger. Initially peaceful, Cartman's movement quickly becomes violent and Nazi-esque in tone, arguing that Gingers are a "great race", though when he tries to name a successful "ginger", the gingers are forced to simply declare themselves as being like "Ron Howard… and others." He and his organization start holding protests, including beating up a brunette who played Annie, for playing a redhead but not actually being one. Eventually, Cartman convinces the Ginger kids to decide to kill all the town's non-gingers by telling them "The only way to fight hate… is with MORE hate!" An hour before dawn, the boys decide to sneak into Cartman's room and change him back to his original appearance. However, on their way over to his house, Ginger kids start to creep out of seemingly nowhere and follow them. At first, though terrified, the boys try to ignore them and decide to go home. Kenny is suddenly snatched away, prompting Kyle and Stan to break into a run. Meanwhile, children across the town are abducted from their homes by the Ginger kids. Eventually, Stan and Kyle are the only ones left. They lock themselves in a barn for protection but the Ginger kids break in and capture them both. All the non-gingers are taken to the Sunset Room at the Airport Hilton Hotel, complete with a lava pit and refreshment buffet. They are all imprisoned in cages and will be chosen for sacrifice one by one. "Daywalker" Kyle is chosen as the first. Cartman states a "half-ginger" is much worse than one with no such trait. However, he asks that before he dies, he say something private to Cartman. Kyle whispers in Cartman's ear that he is not in fact a "ginger". Now thinking only of self- preservation, he realizes that if his own cult were to learn of his true physical identity he too would die with every other non-"ginger kid" of the town. Cartman pretends to have had an epiphany that everyone should live in harmony and peace since Kyle's speech, then gets everyone to sing a song about how the different races should live together in peace. As the non-gingers are freed, an annoyed Kyle calls Cartman a "manipulative asshole" for his hypocrisy. Cartman gleefully responds "Yes, but I'm not going to die". 

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In a hospital in Tokyo, a university professor named Kenji Murai is visited by a man who asks him about the events that led him to the hospital. The story is about a group of crew and passengers on a day trip on a yacht, including Murai; his shipmate assistant Senzô Koyama; writer Etsurô Yoshida; celebrity Masafumi Kasai, the owner of the yacht and two female passengers, professional singer Mami Sekiguchi and student Akiko Sōma. A sudden storm causes the yacht to nearly capsize, causing it to drift uncontrollably. The group arrive at a seemingly deserted island and begin to explore. They come across ponds full of fresh rain water and a large forest of mushrooms. The yacht's skipper, Naoyuki, warns them not to eat the mushrooms because they might be poisonous. As they cross the island, they come upon a shipwreck on the shore whose sails are rotted and its interior is covered with a mysterious mold. Finding that the mold succumbs to strong cleansing products, they work to clear it from the ship. In doing so, they begin to suspect that the ship has been involved in some sort of nuclear testing of the polluted waters, forcing a bizarre mutation on various organisms, including the mushrooms. As the days pass, the group grows restless as their supply of food stores starts to run low. Masafumi Kasai refuses to help find a way off the island and steals from their food stores instead. After becoming concerned about their provisions, Yoshida decides to try eating the mushrooms. One night, as Kasai is raiding the food stores, he is attacked by a grotesque-looking man who promptly disappears after encountering the group. Suddenly, Yoshida's behaviour begins to grow erratic, leading him to be locked inside Kasai's room right after he pulls a gun on the group. Naoyuki decides that in order to survive, the team must leave the island. The others disagree, leading him to depart on his own. Mami frees Yoshida and they attempt to take over the ship, shooting and killing Senzô in the process. Kenji and Akiko manage to take control from the two and force them off the ship. Kenji finds the yacht adrift and swims out towards it. He finds Naoyuki missing and a note left behind explaining that he is responsible for the deaths of his group and had jumped overboard. On the ship, Kasai is confronted by Mami, who entices him to follow her into the forest. Perpetual rainfall has caused wild fungal growth, and Kasai realizes that those who have been eating the mushrooms have turned into humanoid mushroom creatures themselves. The mushrooms are addictive and cannot be resisted after the first bite. Kasai is last seen collapsing as mushroom creatures begin to swarm him. Others who have turned into mushroom creatures attack Akiko and Kenji. They are separated and Akiko is kidnapped. As Kenji tracks her down, he discovers that she has been fed mushrooms and is under their influence along with Mami, Yoshida and Kasai. Kenji attempts to rescue Akiko, but he is overwhelmed by the mushroom creatures and flees without her, making his way onto the yacht and escaping the island. Several days pass before Kenji is finally rescued. As he waits in the hospital, he begins to wonder if he should have stayed with Akiko on the island. His face is revealed to show signs of being infected with fungal growths. Kenji states after that it did not matter whether he stayed or not, but he would have been happier there with Akiko. The screen fades as Kenji notes that humans are not much different than the mushroom creatures. 

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As dusk begins to fall, the unnamed narrator of the story, the new Captain of a British vessel currently anchored at the mouth of the Meinam River in the Gulf of Siam, stands on the deck of his ship before joining his crew for supper. The time is approximately eight o'clock. At supper, the Captain remarks that he saw the masts of a ship anchored amongst some nearby islands. The Chief Mate explains that the ship to which the Captain is referring is probably another English one, waiting for a favorable tide to sail home. The Second Mate elaborates: the ship is the Sephora, from Liverpool, and is bound home from Cardiff with a cargo of coal, which he had learned from the skipper of a tugboat who had previously come aboard to fetch the Captain's letters. The Captain makes a magnanimous gesture by offering to take the anchor watch himself until one o'clock, after which time he will get the Second Mate to relieve him. Again alone on deck, the Captain meditatively smokes a cigar and again considers his own "strangeness" to the ship and its command, and his unfamiliarity with the crew. The rest of the crew sleeps soundly. The Captain notices that the rope side ladder, hung over the side of the ship to accommodate the skipper of the tugboat, has not been brought in. As he begins to pull it, he feels a jerk at the other end and curiously looks over the rail into the sea. He sees a naked man floating in the water and holding the end of the ladder. The man introduces himself as Leggatt. He has been in the water since nine o'clock, which makes the Captain consider his strength and youth. Leggatt climbs up the ladder and the Captain rushes to his cabin to fetch him some clothes. The Captain learns that Leggatt was until recently the chief mate of the Sephora, having been stripped of the title after he accidentally killed a fellow crewman while trying to repair the ship's foresail during a storm. The Captain tells Leggatt that they should retire to his cabin so as not to be discovered by his own Chief Mate. The Captain hides Leggatt in his cabin, returns to the deck, summons the Chief Mate to take over the anchor watch, and then returns to his cabin. Leggatt continues his story: although the murder was unintentional, he was placed under arrest and kept in his cabin for almost seven weeks. Approximately six weeks into his confinement, Leggatt asked the Skipper to leave his door unlocked that night, while the Sephora sailed through the Sunda Straits, so that he could jump off and swim to the Java coast, but the Skipper refused. Three weeks later, the Sephora came to its present location, and Leggatt discovered that the ship's steward, wholly by accident, had left the door to his cabin unlocked. Leggatt wandered onto the deck and jumped off into the sea. He swam to a nearby islet while the Sephora crew lowered a boat to search for him. Leggatt removed his clothes and sank them, determined never to return. He swam to another small island, saw the riding light of the Captain's ship, and swam to it. Eventually, he reached the rope ladder, completely exhausted after swimming over a mile. The Captain helps Leggatt into his bed, where he falls asleep immediately. The Captain eventually falls asleep himself. The next morning, the steward enters the Captain's cabin to bring him his morning coffee, but does not notice Leggatt because the Captain has drawn the curtains that separate the bed from the rest of the cabin. The Captain becomes paranoid that someone will discover Leggatt and decides that he must show himself on deck. He learns that a ship's boat is coming toward the ship and orders the ladder to be dropped over the side, leaving Leggatt in hiding. The ship's boat is carrying the Skipper of the Sephora, who boards the Captain's ship looking for any sign of Leggatt. The Skipper is distressed over Leggatt's actions and disappearance, explaining that he has been at sea for thirty-seven years and has never seen anything like what happened with Leggatt. The Captain offers the explanation that perhaps the heavy sea — rather than Leggatt — had caused the death of the crewman, but the Skipper tells him that this could not have been the case. He then tells the Captain that he will have to report Leggatt as a suicide. The Skipper is, however, suspicious of the Captain and remarks that while the mainland is seven miles away, the Captain's ship is only two miles away from the Sephora. Hoping to clear the suspicion, the Captain shows the Skipper the rest of his cabin and stateroom, announcing his intention to do so, so that Leggatt will know to remain absolutely still. As the Skipper descends the ladder to return to his ship, he begins to ask the Captain if he suspects Leggatt to be secretly stowing away on board, but the Captain quickly dismisses him with, "Certainly not." The Captain and Leggatt have another secret conversation. Leggatt tells the Captain that the Sephora Skipper lied when he said that he gave the order to repair the foresail. Rather, he whimpered about their "last hope" while Leggatt repaired the foresail without being told to do so. The Captain, wholly convinced of Leggatt's innocence, understands that the weather, on the night Leggatt killed the crewman, "crushed an unworthy mutinous existence." Leggatt's presence in the Captain's cabin causes the Captain to constantly think of him, and the Chief Mate and the helmsman begin to notice the Captain's odd, stealthy behavior. While the tension grows more unbearable, Leggatt hides mostly in the Captain's bathroom and sleeps with him in his bed. Leggatt eats tins of preserves stored in the Captain's locker and drinks the Captain's morning coffee. Leggatt asks the Captain to maroon him on a nearby shore, since he does not intend to return to England to be tried and hung. The Captain initially refuses, but then agrees to grant Leggatt his wish. At midnight, the Captain goes on deck and orders the ship to change its tack and approach the east side of the Gulf. The Chief Mate silently hints at his disapproval and tells the Second Mate that the order shows a lack of judgment. By noon, the Chief Mate wonders when the Captain will order a change of course, but the Captain tells him that they will be sailing as close to the islands as they can to find some "land breezes" to propel them more quickly than they were moving in the middle of the Gulf. The Chief Mate expresses his shock at such a reckless decision. That night, the Captain tells Leggatt that he will steer the ship near Koh-ring, an island that seems inhabited, maneuvering it to within half a mile of the shore so that Leggatt will not have to swim far to reach land. Leggatt warns him to be careful, lest a mishap cost the Captain his first command. The Captain returns to the deck and orders the Second Mate to open the quarter-deck ports. He then returns to his cabin and tells Leggatt to escape out of the quarter-deck ports while the rest of the crew is occupied. He also tells him to lower himself to the sea with a rope to avoid a splash. Leggatt grabs the Captain's arm as a silent gesture of thanks. That night, the Captain visits Leggatt for the last time. He gives him three sovereigns, which Leggatt initially refuses but eventually accepts. Neither man says anything when they separate for the last time. When the Captain returns to the deck, he is startled by the ship's proximity to land, but he knows he must maintain this course to help Leggatt escape. He orders the helmsman to continue their course while the other crewmen stare in disbelief. As they approach Koh-ring and the ship comes dangerously close to running aground, the members of the crew begin vocalizing their concern. The Chief Mate cries that the ship's bottom will be torn off. Although the Captain remains stern before the crew, he is filled with doubt about their chances of survival. The dark sky, combined with the shadows from the hills of Koh-ring, make navigation very difficult, and the Captain wishes he had some kind of mark in the water by which to gauge his steering. Suddenly, he sees a white object in the water within a yard of the ship's side — he recognizes it as his hat, which he had given to Leggatt and which had fallen off his head when he began his swim to shore. The Captain uses this mark to help him steer the ship, which avoids being grounded and steers clear of any further danger. The Captain now feels in perfect command of the ship and his crew. As his ship sails on, he watches his hat disappear from view and thinks of Leggatt, "striking out for a new destiny." 

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On the Berlin subway, a mysterious, masked man offers university student Cheryl two tickets to a free screening at the Metropol, an isolated and recently renovated local cinema. Cheryl talks her friend Kathy into going with her; at the theater, they meet two preppy college boys, George and Ken. Other attendees of the screening include a blind man and his guide daughter; a married couple; a boyfriend and girlfriend; and a pimp named Tony along with his two prostitutes. One of the prostitutes, Rosemary, scratches her face with a bizarre mask that is on display in the lobby. The film being shown is a violent, disturbing horror film about four teenagers who discover an old tomb and dig up the grave of a sixteenth-century fortune teller called Nostradamus. When the teenagers dig up Nostradamus's coffin, they find no body and instead an old book and a mask identical to the strange mask in the lobby. When one of the movie's characters puts the mask on and is scratched by it just like Rosemary was by its doppelganger, he then turns evil and slaughters his friends. Feeling ill, Rosemary goes to the bathroom, where she transforms into a bloodthirsty, red-eyed demon like the one in the film. Rosemary attacks her friend, Carmen, who then transforms into a demon in front of the rest of the cinema-goers. The group of uninfected people race to any exit they can find, only to find that they have all been bricked up making escape impossible. Although they attempt to barricade themselves in the balcony, many are attacked and infected by the demons. One of the demons escapes into the city when four punks break into the building through a back entrance; the punks are soon transformed into demons as well. In the cinema, only George and Cheryl remain uninfected. Using a display motorcycle and sword props from the foyer, they ride through the auditorium, slicing down many demons. George kills nearly all of them when suddenly, a helicopter crashes through the roof. George and Cheryl use an emergency grappling hook and winch to climb to the roof, where they are attacked by the mysterious man from the subway. They are able to kill him by impaling his head on an exposed bit of rebar. The two climb down to the street and discover that the demonic infection has spread throughout Berlin. They are then chased by a horde of demons before being picked up by a jeep of well-armed survivors. As they drive out of the city to safety, Cheryl (having been infected at some point in the theater) transforms into a demon. But before she can harm George, one of the survivalists shoots and kills her. As Cheryl's body collapses into the roadway, George and the survivalists drive out of the city. 

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Tanaqui, the narrator, is a young woman living in a small town called Shelling, which lies beside the Great River. She and her four siblings look different from the rest of the townsfolk, and instead of worshiping the River, their family has three idols—the so-called Undying. When the country is invaded by the Heathens (who are modelled after Europeans and are the ancestors of the people of Dalemark in the other three novels) who look like them, Tanaqui and her siblings flee to avoid being killed by the people of their own village. Tanaqui's narration in The Spellcoats is not her diary, nor is it being "told" as many stories are. Rather, Tanaqui is weaving the story into a pair of "spellcoats" that she is making. The first spellcoat tells of how the five siblings (Gull, Robin, Hern, Tanaqui and Duck) travelled downriver on their boat. First, they encounter the mysterious magician Tanamil, then the Heathen king Kars Adon, and finally, at the sea, the evil mage Kankredin, whose aim is to take over the power of the river by taking over the five children's souls. In the middle of this Gull was bound like the One, Tanamil (Younger Amil or the young one) and the Lady. The second spellcoat tells how, after their escape from Kankredin, the five siblings are captured by their own King, "the king of the natives" (who are modelled after Native Americans and Hawaiians and are the ancestors of the Holy Islanders in Drowned Ammet) who has lost his kingdom and is drifting with the remains of his army trying to avoid the Heathens. The King keeps the children in his company because he needs one of the children's idols—the powerful One—to assist him in his pursuits. As Tanaqui continues to weave during her travel upriver with the King, she realises that the spellcoats that Kankredin and his mages wore gave them the powers that were woven into their spellcoats. She becomes convinced that the words woven into her spellcoats will have the power to defeat Kankredin. Realizing that Tanaqui is the only one able to stop Kankredin and his mages with her weaving, her elder brother Hern convinces the combined forces of their own people and the Heathens to make a stand at the headwaters of the Great River, and hold off Kankredin while Tanaqui completes her second spellcoat. Tanaqui weaves frantically to catch up to her "present," and finally she completes her spellcoat with a waking vision she experiences. In this vision, their eldest family idol called The One rises up, crushes Kankredin, and shakes the land into a new shape. We do not find out from Tanaqui's narration if she succeeds or fails, because she must finish the spellcoat and put it on the idol before the spellcoat's woven spell can take effect. In an epilogue written by Elthorar Ansdaughter, Keeper of Antiquities, we learn that the spellcoats were discovered hundreds of years later, during the approximate time period of Drowned Ammet and Cart and Cwidder, in the mountains of North Dalemark near Hannart.The digging for spellcoats near Hannart is also mentioned in Crown of Dalemark, Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 266, Elthorar notes the close correspondence between various figures in the stories and their apparent counterparts in the legends and folktales of the people of Dalemark. She also tries and fails to determine the places described, leading the reader to conclude that Tanaqui's vision came to pass, Kankredin was defeated, and The One reshaped the land. Like the other three novels of the Dalemark Quartet, The Spellcoats is a story about a physical journey, during which revelations occur. As in the other three books, the presence of magic is not readily apparent at its beginning, but slowly creeps into the story. 

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George and Bree have an elegant dinner together without the company of her children. The two enjoy pleasant conversation which leads to George unexpectedly kissing her. Bree has no objections and continues to kiss him however she asks him to stop when she has an itch on her neck. Immediately George assumes it is something she ate but Bree believes her hives come from something much different. She shoos George out of the house and her hives comes under control. The following day, Bree visits her therapist Dr. Goldfine, who advises her that her sudden break-outs occur because she still feels that she is married. Bree shakes off the suggestion but knows deep down that it is true. She decides that she will have to overcome this since she would like to continue seeing George. That evening, Bree calls George to ask him if he would like to accompany her on a romantic overnight to a hotel. George happily accepts and reserves a hotel room. However, when they arrive at the hotel, Bree once again breaks out into hives. George manages to stop the hives by recommending the two stay in separate rooms. Later, the two have dinner and George gives Bree an antihistamine to help with her hives. George walks Bree back to her room and puts her to bed. As Bree sleeps, George watches her and takes off his tie. Bree wakes up hours later to find George watching her. She apologizes for her drunkenness and that George could have slept beside her. George then tells her that he would like to stay but is afraid her rash will return. Bree tells him that she will have to get over it since she loves him and wants to be with him. The two kiss and have sex. As George sleeps, Bree sits in an armchair with a bathrobe on wondering if she made the right decision. Gabrielle walks into the courthouse where David greets her and advises her to quickly change her wardrobe. Gabrielle refuses but David insists. As they walk out, they are followed by a man named Louis who had a restraining order filed against him. He asks David if he can have the order pulled but the woman who filed it would beg to differ. Louis then takes out a gun and points it at David who immediately pushes Gabrielle out of the way. The gun fires but David blocks it with his briefcase. Louis quickly runs and throws the gun at David. David takes possession of the gun however when he turns around he is mistakenly shot by a police officer. Gabrielle visits David the following day at the hospital where he is recovering. Gabrielle feeds him, and he wonders whether he should keep the case or not. On the day of Carlos' hearing, David asks the judge for a recess since he cannot represent Carlos. He tells Gabrielle that he has feelings for her. Carlos tells Gabby that he needs to get David back even if that means sleeping with him which he believes is all part of the plan. Carlos is clearly joking and thinks that this is all part of Gabrielle and David's plan. He goes on to say that he would rather be in prison than to have his wife sleep with the lawyer to get him out. The following day, David meets Gabrielle at her house where he follows her to the bedroom. She gives him her offer which involves a secret affair and concludes that she cannot divorce Carlos due to the guilt and humiliation. David kisses her, but she stops him when she knows that David is doing it out of lust and not of love. She demands that he be in court the following morning ready to defend Carlos. Nina questions Lynette on her fashion sense. Lynette appeases her co-worker, her boss and ultimately herself when she buys new designer suits which Tom immediately asks her to return them because of their expensive price. Lynette agrees thinking about her family's welfare but cannot resist wearing her favorite new suit to a business meeting the following day. Lynette carefully hides the price tags on the coat but the skirt tag pops out and Nina decides to help her by pulling it off. Lynette is disappointed but satisfied. She tries to win Tom over by buying him a new set of golf clubs. Tom hesitates at first but decides that sometimes parents need something to make them feel special too. Susan and her mother Sophie prepare for Sophie's upcoming marriage when the question of whether Mike will ask Susan to marry him comes up. Mike advises the two to keep their expectations high but not to expect it anytime soon since he wants it to be spontaneous. Meanwhile, Susan discovers Paul Young's arrival home and with the other neighbors calls the police since she believes he killed Mrs. Huber. When the police arrives, they ask the neighbors why Paul should be arrested, and Susan goes to fetch Mike. When the officer asks Mike if he has Mrs. Huber's journals or whether he heard a confession from Paul, he denies it. Susan looks shocked and the entire neighborhood returns to what they had been doing previously. That evening, Susan asks Mike his reasons. Mike explains that because he owned an unregistered gun, violated his probation, and demanded a confession while holding a man at gunpoint, he would be in more trouble than Paul Young would if both were arrested. Susan understands but Mike's answer still hurts her. The next afternoon, Paul visits Susan and asks her about Zach's whereabouts. Paul picks up a knife and slowly moves toward Susan demanding to know where he is. Susan tells him she gave Zach money to go to Utah to find him and that she would have taken him home but he still had feelings for Julie. Paul leaves thankful for the answer but angry of what she did. Mike confronts Paul on his reasons for returning to Wisteria Lane and when he tells him that Susan sent Zach away to Utah, Mike quickly runs towards Susan's home where he demands from her if she sent Zach away. Susan tries to explain herself but when she replies "Yes" he runs out of the house disgusted. Susan chases after him in her mother's wedding dress, telling him she loves him and begging for a second chance. Mike drives away and Susan sits in the middle of the street sobbing as Paul Young coldly stares back at her. At that moment, Bree, Lynette and Gabrielle stop what they are doing to comfort Susan. 

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Rose Morgan, a middle-aged English literature professor at Columbia University, shares a home with her vain, overbearing mother, Hannah. While attending the wedding of her sister, Claire, to Alex, she tells her best friend, Doris, that she has reached the point where she knows she will never get married. But she also ruminates on how wonderful it might feel to have a partner who really knows her. Gregory Larkin is a Columbia mathematics professor who cannot connect with students and loses perspective as soon as he is aroused by an attractive woman. Just a few moments after beginning a talk about his new book on the twin prime conjecture, his ex-girlfriend Candace arrives. She flusters him so much that he has a panic attack and is unable to continue. While recovering, Gregory begs his best friend, Henry, not to let him go home with Candace, but leaves with her the second she offers. Back at his place, she goes to leave right after they have had sex. She admits that she is still with her new boyfriend but wanted to bolster her ego because he was cheating on her. When she leaves Gregory in a state of frustration and rejection, he decides to place a personal ad that reads, "Columbia University professor (male) seeks woman interested in common goals and companionship. Must have Ph.D. and be over thirty-five. Physical appearance not important!" Soon he gets a response that Claire sent on behalf of Rose. That night he asks her out to dinner. They begin a relationship that is akin to dating, but without any physical intimacy beyond an occasional hug. Three months later, Gregory proposes marriage. He reinforces that their relationship will be built on common interest and caring, not sex, though he does agree to occasional sex provided Rose gives him enough warning. Gregory and Rose marry in a court- house ceremony. The relationship continues to grow and become more emotionally intimate, with hints of physical attraction. While they are discussing his book, Rose asks if now is enough warning to tell him she would like to have sex tonight. She tries to make the scene seductive, while he tries at first to keep it benign. They end up on the floor, passionately making out, until Gregory resists and pulls away. He expresses disappointment in her, implying her behavior is a "female-manipulation" without acknowledging that he only stopped it because he got carried away. Hours later, while he is asleep, she sneaks out and goes home. Rose decides that feeling beautiful is something she wants but that she has ignored those feelings. She changes her diet and starts a rigorous exercise regimen, lightens and cuts her hair, starts wearing curve- favoring clothing, and learns what cosmetics flatter her. Meanwhile, Gregory cuts his trip short and comes home. However, Rose tells him that she does not want to continue in their marriage and moves back in with her mother. One day Alex comes home to find Claire in bed with her masseuse, and they decide to separate. While she is comforting him, Alex asks Rose to have dinner with him, but she realizes that the fantasy of Alex is a lot better than the reality. Gregory starts lashing out at students due to the stress of his failing marriage. He ends up on Henry's couch as an emotional and a physical wreck, insisting that he loves Rose and he does not know what to do. Henry encourages him to fight for the relationship. Not long before sunrise, Gregory goes to Rose's apartment. He tells her that he loves her and that what caused him to pull away that night was how desperately he wanted her. They both confess they're in love and when Gregory says he wants to be married to her again, she reminds him that he is still married to her. After the sun comes up, they catch a taxi home. 

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The novel is about a girl named Junko Aoki (青木淳子 Aoki Junko), who has the psychokinetic power of pyrokinesis. She decides to kill criminals in order to make her world better. When Junko sets off to rescue a woman kidnapped by juvenile delinquents, the arson division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and a secretive vigilante group that wants to recruit her, pursue her. Chikako Ishizu (石津ちか子 Ishizu Chikako), a policewoman, is astounded by Junko Aoki's case as she digs deeper into it. 

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Bob and Elizabeth Rueland (David Duchovny and Joely Richardson) live and work in Chicago — Bob as an architect, Elizabeth as a zoologist at Lincoln Park Zoo. On the night of her fundraiser for a new primate house, Bob promises Elizabeth he'll finish the building. Elizabeth is killed in a car accident leaving the fundraiser, and her heart is transplanted to artist Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver), who has suffered from heart disease since the age of 14 and is near death. The surgery is successful; Grace is able to live a normal life for the first time and plans to make her first airplane trip to Italy to paint. Grace's best friend Megan Dayton (Bonnie Hunt), encourages her to start dating in spite of her self-consciousness about the long surgical scar on her chest. Grace writes a letter to the donor's family after the surgery, thanking them for the heart she received; it takes her over a year to finally find the courage to mail the letter. Bob works to build the primate house Elizabeth raised money for; he is still depressed a year after her death. He recognizes that he must resume his life as he becomes frustrated seeing that his dog hasn't gotten over the loss either. His friend, veterinarian Charlie (David Alan Grier), organizes a blind date for him at O'Reilly's, a self-styled Irish-Italian restaurant. The date goes very badly, but Bob finds that he is interested in the waitress — Grace, who is also the granddaughter of the restaurant's owner, Marty O'Reilly (Carroll O'Connor). Although they are both unaware of the connection they have through Elizabeth's heart, Bob and Grace begin to date. As they grow closer together, Grace is reluctant to tell Bob about her medical history. After several months of dating, Grace finally decides to tell Bob about her transplant. However, before she gets the chance, she finds in his house the letter that she had sent several months earlier. Horrified by the discovery, Grace flees and tells Megan what has happened. Megan's husband, Joe, (Jim Belushi) becomes infuriated as he has misunderstood Grace's panic and thinks Bob must be married. Megan then explains the situation to him in six monosyllables: "Grace has Bob's dead wife's heart!" When Grace meets Bob again, she tells him the truth. Stunned and not knowing what to say, he leaves. Against Megan's advice to not run away from the situation, Grace goes to Italy alone. Back at home, Bob realizes that although he will always miss Elizabeth, he "aches" for Grace. He decides to go after her, and the two reunite in Italy. They return to Chicago for the dedication of the new primate house. As the film ends we see Wally (William Bronder) and Sophie (Marianne Muellerleile) dancing happily at their wedding reception at O'Reilly's restaurant, and Charlie holding Joe and a visibly pregnant Megan's toddler, while they join Grace and Bob on the dance floor. 

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In 1871, six convicts escape from a Carson City prison. One of them freezes to death during a blizzard. The others - Canfield, Greer, Cockerell, Anderson and Maxwell - make it to Lake Monte Diablo, where eight women live in a settlement while their men are away prospecting. Granny is the elder, watching over Marcia, Rachel, Barbara, Susan, Harriet, Mary, and Millie. Frightened, the women reluctantly permit them to use an empty cabin. Granny hides all the guns except one when they realize that the men are escaped convicts. Canfield has returned here for a reason; the other convicts think that he has money hidden somewhere nearby. Canfield was convicted of killing a mine owner, and $40,000 is missing. Canfield learns that Marcia, to whom he is attracted, is engaged to be married to a man named Rudy Schaeffer. Canfield claims Rudy was took the $40,000 and committed perjury to get Canfield convicted and sentenced to hang. Canfield reveals that he has returned to kill Schaeffer. A barn catches fire due to Rachel's nervousness. After the convicts rescue the animals, the women treat them more kindly. Canfield is trustworthy, but the other four continue plotting. Later, Canfield manages to take Granny's gun. Marcia rides off, so Canfield follows and catches up to her. They eventually embrace and kiss. He tells her that Morgan, a mine owner, had swindled him out of the money. When he came to talk to Morgan about it, Morgan pulled a gun on him, they scuffled and the gun went off, killing Morgan. Schaeffer witnessed this, but claimed that Canfield had killed Morgan in cold blood, so that Schaeffer can keep the money himself. While they are away, Johnny Greer charms Rachel, Schaeffer's sister, into revealing where Granny hid the other guns. He, Cockerell and Anderson arm themselves and wait for Canfield. On the way home, the men of the town stop in a saloon. Rudy Schaeffer spots a wanted poster, so the alarmed men race back to their families. Clyde Maxwell, a young convict, cannot control his murderous impulses whenever someone resists him. He takes Barbara on a long walk and tries to kiss her. Barbara tries to pull away, so he pulls out a knife. Canfield, riding back with Marcia, hears Barbara's cries and arrives in time to intervene. In the ensuing struggle, Maxwell stabs Canfield in the shoulder. Maxwell chases after Barbara, but the other women, who are out looking for her, kill him. Canfield is so weakened that Greer has no trouble taking his gun. Rachel finds the $40,000 in a trunk belonging to Rudy. She gives it to Marcia who then gives it to Greer to get him to stop beating Canfield. Schaeffer and his men arrive back in the small town and confront the convicts. In a gunfight, Cockerell and Anderson are shot. Greer flees up the mountain, chased by all but Schaeffer. Greer drops the $40,000. He tries to pick it up, is shot, and falls to his death. Schaeffer goes for the stolen money. Canfield comes up behind him and at gunpoint, telling him he is going to confess. Marcia runs up behind screaming. As Canfield turns to her, Rudy spins around and draws his gun, but Canfield kills him. The townsfolk dig graves for the four convicts and Schaeffer. The sheriff and his posse arrive. When he asks about the five fugitives (they found the frozen sixth man earlier), Granny tells them that they are buried in the five graves. The others go along, and the sheriff is satisfied. The narrator (an uncredited Dale Robertson) relates that the lake was renamed Convict Lake. 

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Urban Reign follows the exploits of "brawler-for-hire" Brad Hawk, who is hired to find a kidnapped gang member by the swordswoman Shun Ying Lee. Brad fights his way through the street gangs of Green Harbor, a fortified city in the U.S. As he does so to get some answers, the true machinations of the protagonists reveal themselves and things become more complicated. 

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Bruno, 20, and Sonia, 18, are surviving on her welfare cheques and Bruno's petty crimes when Sonia becomes pregnant. While Sonia is absent, Bruno sells their baby to a black market adoption ring to make some quick cash. He tells Sonia, telling her that they can simply "make" another baby, but Sonia is sickened and faints. Faced with Sonia's shock, and feeling regret for his mistake, Bruno buys the child back at a premium—but, after being turned away by Sonia, his mounting debts lead Bruno down a quick path to desperation. He also learns Sonia is pressing charges. He winds up in prison, and Sonia visits him, sharing a moment of despair. 

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The main character in Odama is Yamanouchi Kagetora, a young general struggling to avenge his clan and preserve the Way of Ninten- do, which is a philosophy that means "The way of heavenly duty". With this philosophy to guide him, he finds that his individual soldiers can band together to create a force strong enough to defeat even the most powerful enemy, a general named Karasuma Genshin. Genshin betrayed Lord Yamanouchi Nobutada, Kagetora's father, in a coup, leading Lord Nobutada to take his own life in order to avoid the shame of defeat. Kagetora exacts his revenge, using only limited resources against a vast army. One of these resources is a sacred object protected by his clan: a legendary weapon called the Odama. 

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Gunjo Gakuen ("Deep Blue School") is a facility designed to gather and isolate those students with a high adaptation coefficient (indicating that the student is less likely to be able to adapt to society), determined from an adaptation exam mandated by the government. After a failed summer vacation with other members of the school's broadcasting club, Taichi Kurosu and some of the other club members return to the city, only to find that all living creatures within it except for the club members have completely vanished. In order to confirm the status of the outside world, Taichi decides to gather other club members to help Misato Miyasumi, the president of the broadcasting club, set up a broadcasting antenna to contact any possible survivors. However, Taichi soon discovers that the world is actually repeating the same week and thus all their actions are reset, with no loss or gain, no matter what actions are taken. Seeking himself and the restoration of broken bonds, Taichi must discover meaning to exist in this strange and lonely but, for Taichi, comforting world. 

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In ancient times, the hero Jamshid sealed away the dark god Ahriman and established the kingdom of Shadam. Although Shadam was once conquered by Ahriman's servant, the serpent king Zahhak, it was reclaimed one thousand years later by the hero Fereydun, and Shadam finds peace and prosperity under successive kings. However, Ahriman begins to plot his return; he manipulates the Yufurat Empire, led by a descendant of Zahhak, into searching for the three holy rings that Jamshid had used to seal him away. In the present day, King Shadam VII tasks his son, the Prince, with escorting Mariam, the Princess of the neighboring kingdom Mahamoud and keeper of one of the rings. When the Yufurat Empire attacks the Shadam Kingdom, the King gives the Prince the second ring and instructs him and Mariam to escape to Mahamoud and seek aid from its king. The Prince is attacked by the traitorous General Gaddafi and awakens in the lair of a resistance group. The resistance leader informs the Prince of a magic lamp said to be hidden within the Shadam Kingdom treasury, and suggests that the power of the lamp can nullify the magic of Gaddafi's sword. The Prince obtains the treasury key from his dying tutor and discovers the lamp within the treasury. The lamp houses a powerful Jinn who declares the Prince to be his new master. Aided by the Jinn's magic, the Prince successfully defeats Gaddafi and avenges his tutor. The Prince and Mariam disembark on a ship helmed by a captain and his son Sindbad. While replenishing supplies at an island village, the group is ambushed by Al Karria, an elite Yufurat royal guard. Al murders Sindbad's father, kidnaps Mariam, steals the ship and abandons the Prince and Sindbad on the island. Within the island's temple, the Jinn is taught a spell that allows the group to teleport to Mahamoud. The Prince informs King Mahamoud of Mariam's capture and meets the magician Kala Han, who suspects that Mariam is being held in Gylan, the capital of the Yufurat Empire. The Prince obtains a Gylan passport from a Yufurat deserter and infiltrates Al Karria's castle, but falls into a trap and is imprisoned in Al's dungeon. The Prince meets and befriends a fellow prisoner, Sit Dileni, who assumes that the Prince has also come to steal a piece of armor that was worn by Fereydun. Gaddafi is sent to execute the Prince, but the Prince defeats him and uses his key to escape the dungeon. The Prince then releases Mariam, who tells the Prince of the Emperor's goal to obtain the holy rings, and that her ring has been taken. The group escapes from the castle and returns to Mahamoud, where Kala Han reveals that the third ring is hidden within the Tomb of the Wise near the village of Uruk. Mariam, in gratitude for her rescue, gives the Prince an amulet capable of putting the dead to rest. At Uruk, the group retrieves a hammer that can open the Tomb of the Wise from the hideout of Ali Baba and his bandits, who have been terrorizing the village. Upon retrieving the third ring, the Prince is contacted by the spirit of Jamshid, who warns the Prince of Ahriman's plot to escape his imprisonment by destroying the rings. Outside of the Tomb, the Prince is tricked by Al, disguised as Mariam, into relinquishing the lamp. The resistance group finds the Prince in Uruk and recruits him into an operation to liberate Shadam. The Prince infiltrates the castle and confronts Al, who appears to hold King Shadam hostage for the other two rings. After taking the rings from the Prince, Al reveals the King to be a zombie reanimated to serve Yufurat. After being forced into battle with the King and the Jinn, the Prince uses Mariam's amulet to put his father's spirit to rest. The group returns to Gylan and defeats Al before witnessing the Emperor destroying the rings in a ceremony. As Ahriman returns to the mortal realm and kills the Emperor, the group flees to Mahamoud, where the Queen recalls a prophecy by Jamshid that foretells the appearance of a "Tower of Ziggurat" that would tie the physical and spiritual realms together upon Ahriman's return. Kala Han also informs the group that inserting the ashes of the rings into the lamp will restore their original power. At the top of the Tower, the group encounters the Roc, who can fly between worlds. The group ventures to the spiritual world and defeats Ahriman's subordinate daeva: Zairik, Saurva, Taromaiti, Druj, and Aka Manah. The group faces Ahriman in a final battle and weakens him into a state where he can be locked away once more with the rings, which have been restored by the group's hope and resolve. After returning to the mortal world, the Prince ascends to the throne and weds Mariam, Sindbad becomes the captain of his father's ship, and Sit returns to the life of a thief. 

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In the 1890s, Lawrence Stevens (Dick Powell) is an obituary writer unhappy in his job, who is given, by a ghostly deceased newspaper man named Pop Benson (John Philliber), a newspaper that has tomorrow's news. He uses the paper to write stories and get the scoop on other reporters; but this also brings him under suspicion by Police Inspector Mulrooney (Edgar Kennedy), who wants to know how Stevens always seems to know what's going to happen and where, mainly a robbery at a theater's box office during a performance. Stevens and his new girlfriend Sylvia (Linda Darnell) - half of a clairvoyant act with her uncle Oscar Smith (Jack Oakie) - have a number of adventures, until her uncle mistakenly thinks that Stevens has consorted with his niece in her boarding house room. The uncle attempts to intimidate Stevens into marrying her, not knowing that Stevens has come to him to ask for her hand. Stevens gets another newspaper from Pop Benson, intending to use it to pick horses at the racetrack, to win enough money to get married. Unfortunately, he also reads a story about his own death that night, so he and Sylvia get married immediately and head off to the track with her uncle. Stevens bets on winner after winner, amassing $60,000, which is then stolen on their way back to town. They give chase but are arrested for speeding. Stevens tries his best to avoid the hotel lobby where his death is supposed to take place, but circumstances keep pushing him in that direction. He spots the man who stole his money and chases him on foot through the streets and over the rooftops, until they both fall through the chimney that leads to the very hotel lobby he's been trying to avoid. A gunfight breaks out, and the thief is shot and killed. Because he has Stevens' wallet on him, he is at first identified as the newspaperman, and his newspaper prints an erroneous story saying that their star reporter has been killed. When a reporter finds out the truth, the newspaper has already hit the streets; and it is this edition that Pop had given him. So Stevens does not die in the hotel lobby, and he and Sylvia live to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. 

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The main characters in the novel are Steve Peterson, whose wife Nina was murdered two years before, his six-year-old son Neil, who witnessed the murder, and Sharon Martin, a young journalist who befriends them both. The novel opens as Steve and Sharon debate capital punishment. A young man named Ronald Thompson has been sentenced to death for Nina's murder. Sharon is against the death penalty and tries to save Thompson. Unknown to them, Thompson is actually innocent. The real killer is a psychopath named August Rommel Taggart, Arty for short. He calls himself Foxy because General Rommel was called the desert fox. He kidnaps Sharon and Neil, hiding them under New York's famed Grand Central Station. The rest of the novel describes the race against time to save the three innocent people. 

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The story is the testament of a tortured, morphine-addicted man who relates an incident that occurred during his service as an officer during World War I. In the unnamed narrator's account, his cargo ship is captured by an Imperial German sea- raider in "one of the most open and least frequented parts of the broad Pacific".H. P. Lovecraft, "Dagon", Dagon and Other Macabre Tales, p. 14. He escapes on a lifeboat and drifts aimlessly, south of the equator, until he eventually finds himself stranded on "a slimy expanse of hellish black mire which extended about [him] in monotonous undulations as far as [he] could see.... The region was putrid with the carcasses of decaying fish and less describable things which [he] saw protruding from the nasty mud of the unending plain." He theorizes that this area was formerly a portion of the ocean floor thrown to the surface by volcanic activity, "exposing regions which for innumerable millions of years had lain hidden under unfathomable watery depths."Lovecraft, "Dagon", p. 15. After waiting three days for the seafloor to dry out sufficiently to walk on, he ventures out on foot to find the sea and possible rescue. After two days of walking, he reaches his goal, a hill which turns out to be a mound on the edge of an "immeasurable pit or canyon".Lovecraft, "Dagon", p. 16. Descending the slope, he sees a gigantic white stone object that he soon perceives to be a "well-shaped monolith whose massive bulk had known the workmanship and perhaps the worship of living and thinking creatures."Lovecraft, "Dagon", p. 17. The monolith, situated next to a channel of water in the bottom of the chasm, is covered in unfamiliar hieroglyphs "consisting for the most part of conventionalized aquatic symbols such as fishes, eels, octopuses, crustaceans, mollusks, whales, and the like." There are also "crude sculptures" depicting: '' '' As the narrator looks at the monolith, a creature emerges from the water: Horrified, the mariner flees back to his stranded boat and vaguely recalls a "great storm". His next memory is of a San Francisco hospital, where he was taken after being rescued in mid- ocean by a U.S. ship. There are no reports of any Pacific upheavals, and he does not expect anyone to believe his incredible story. He mentions one abortive attempt to gain understanding of his experience: Haunted by visions of the creature, "especially when the moon is gibbous and waning", he describes his fears for the future of humanity: With the drug that has given him "transient surcease" running out, he declares himself ready to do himself in; the narrative is revealed to be a suicide note. The story ends with the narrator hearing "a noise at the door, as of some immense slippery body lumbering against it" before shouting "God, that hand! The window! The window!"Lovecraft, "Dagon", p. 19. There's some dispute over what actually happens at the end of the story; Joshi and Schultz in the H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia (p. 58) describe the interpretation that an undersea creature has actually arrived at the narrator's room to finish him off as "preposterous". They note that Lovecraft described the story as "involving hallucinations of the most hideous sort" in an August 27, 1917 letter to Reinhart Kleiner. 

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The Zacharys are a thriving and respected family on the Texas frontier. Father Will Zachary was killed by Kiowa Indians, leaving his oldest son Ben (Burt Lancaster) as the head of the family. Both Ben and his mother Mattilda (Lillian Gish) are very protective of the Zacharys' daughter Rachel (Audrey Hepburn), who was adopted as an infant; her other brothers, Cash (Audie Murphy) and Andy (Doug McClure), treat her as they would any sister. The family is supported by their closest neighbor, Zeb Rawlins (Charles Bickford), the patriarch of a family whose shy son, Charlie (Albert Salmi), wants to marry Rachel. Ben is reluctant for this to occur; having long been aware that she is not actually his sister, he is in love with her. Ranchers from all around gather to prepare for a cattle drive to Wichita, Kansas. An old man thought to be crazy, Abe Kelsey (Joseph Wiseman), hides in the brush nearby after claiming that Rachel Zachary is an Indian. Believing this story to be a vengeful lie, Ben and Cash try to kill Kelsey; they manage to unhorse him but he soon steals a horse from their property. One night, a small group of Kiowa led by Lost Bird appears and offers to trade horses to Ben in return for Rachel. Lost Bird claims that she is actually his sister, and that an old white man told him so. Soon after, Charlie - to whom Ben has decided to give permission to court Rachel - is killed by the Kiowa while returning home after visiting her. In her grief, Charlie's mother accuses Rachel of being a "dirty Injun". Ben leads the ranchers in tracking down Kelsey and bringing him back to the Rawlins ranch to be hanged as a horse thief. With a noose around his neck, Kelsey tells the gathered ranchers that, on a retaliatory raid against the Kiowa that he led with Will Zachary, he found a baby and was about to kill it when Will, sick of all the killing, intervened and took the baby for his own. Kelsey claims that his own son was captured by the Kiowa and demanded that Will return Rachel in exchange for his son, but Will refused. Ben intervenes and tells the gathered group the story he knows, that Kelsey's son was actually killed in the fighting, but that Kelsey refused to believe it, inventing the story as justification for vengeance against the Zacharys. Kelsey followed them from town to town, poisoning peoples' minds wherever they moved. Mattilda, driven to the edge by Kelsey's rant and by continuous arguing over the truth, strikes Kelsey's horse, causing him to be hanged. This convinces Zeb that Kelsey was telling the truth, and he and all of the ranchers turn their backs on the Zacharys. Back at their own homestead, Mattilda admits to her family that Will had taken the Kiowa baby and brought it to her to replace an infant daughter whom they had just lost. Cash, unable to deal with his sister being a "red-hide nigger", abandons the family. The Kiowa return in force, demanding Rachel, who tries to save her family by going over to the Kiowa. To stop her from doing so, Ben deliberately breaks the truce by ordering Andy to kill a Kiowa, forcing a fight to the finish. Mattilda is killed during the fighting that follows. Just as the family, almost out of ammunition, is about to be overwhelmed, Cash arrives and turns the tide. Rachel, protecting a wounded Andy and aware that Ben loves her, is confronted by Lost Bird, but kills him and thus chooses sides once and for all. 

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The game follows the adventures of the sorceress Princess Iris of Arliel. The evil Jyn have overrun her father's lands and stolen three of the four elemental crystals used to keep the peace. Her quest takes her through the lands of Arliel to fight the Jyn's elemental governors and reclaim the crystals before defeating Emperor Grym and his mysterious overlord. Aside from the introduction (and closing), there is no plot development in the game. 

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Q-SKY program director and morning DJ Jeff Dugan (Michael Brandon) builds a large fanbase by assembling a group of charismatic on-air personalities playing popular rock and roll. (Screenwriter Ezra Sacks worked at Los Angeles' fabled FM station KMET in the early 1970s, and Jeff Dugan is based loosely on KMET program director Mike Herrington.) He soon finds that corporate management expects Jeff to use the station's position atop the ratings to sell more advertising time, and does so with the aid of a newly-hired sales manager. Regis Lamar, the new sales manager, (Tom Tarpey) presents him with the chance to advertise for the U.S. Army using a series of cheesy radio ads. When Jeff refuses to endorse the contract, Regis takes the issue to upper management. Jeff is then ordered to run the ads as provided by the Army and on the schedule specified in the advertising contract. Rather than comply, Jeff quits his job. All of the remaining DJs decide to take control of the station in a sort of lock-in/sit-in/protest. They get listeners to gather in the street outside the station as a sort of protest while the DJs play music without any commercials. Jeff Dugan wakes up to hear the DJs take control of the station. The crowd is already present when he arrives at the station. The DJs lift him up to the second story with a fire hose as they have already barricaded the front doors. The lock-in lasts only until the police get an injunction to remove the staff. A tow truck rips off the front doors and the police enter the building. The DJs battle back using a fire hose and throwing tapes and other office objects at the police. The battle is resolved when Dugan finds himself fighting a policeman outside on an overhang. Jeff saves the policeman from falling off and decides that fighting is the wrong thing to do. He calms the crowd and announces that the DJs are coming out. Unknown to him, the company owner, Carl Billings (Norman Lloyd), has watched from the crowd as the events unfolded. He insists that the DJs stay in the station, fires his management staff responsible for the advertising conflict, and then joins the DJs inside the station. 

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The film is set in post-World War II Moscow. Lieutenant Vladimir Sharapov (Vladimir Konkin) is a young reconnaissance officer and a decorated war veteran who has just returned from the war and is assigned to peacetime service with the famous MUR (Moscow Department of Criminal Investigations). There he becomes part of an elite detective team led by the brilliant, tough, no-nonsense Captain Gleb Zheglov (Vladimir Vysotsky). The duo becomes embroiled in two seemingly unrelated investigations: that of the murder of young aspiring actress Larisa Gruzdeva, and the hunt for a brazen, vicious gang of armed robbers that calls itself "The Black Cat" and constantly manages to evade capture. While suspicion in Gruzdeva's murder initially falls on her estranged husband Dr. Gruzdev (Yursky), it gradually becomes obvious that the two cases are connected, as a Black Cat mobster known as Fox (Aleksandr Belyavsky) is implicated in the murder. As a result of Zheglov's successful high-stakes operation to capture Fox, Sharapov inadvertently finds himself undercover at the Black Cat hideout, sparring with the gang's menacing leader, the Hunchback (Armen Dzhigarkhanyan). What ensues is arguably one of Soviet television's most memorable and suspenseful finales. Much of the series revolves around the relationship between Zheglov and Sharapov. While the two become close friends and roommates, they are essentially opposites who often clash throughout the film. At the root of the conflict lies idealistic Sharapov's disagreement with Zheglov's "ends justify the means" approach to law enforcement. Zheglov, hardened and cynical from spending the war years in the rear fighting organized crime thinks that "a thief's place is in prison, and the public couldn't care less about how I put him there". To that end, Zheglov doesn't hesistate to use dubious tactics such as planting evidence to justify the arrest of a notorious pickpocket. Sharapov, on the other hand, considers that the law is a higher value for its own sake and cannot be used merely as a tool. A tense conflict also arises when, to mislead Fox, Zheglov elects to continue keeping Gruzdev under arrest even after it becomes clear that the man is innocent. 

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Carter, a weird fiction writer, who is likely the Randolph Carter who features in some of Lovecraft's other tales such as "The Statement of Randolph Carter", meets with his close friend, Joel Manton, in a cemetery near an old, dilapidated house on Meadow Hill in the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. As the two sit upon a weathered tomb, Carter tells Manton the tale of an indescribable entity that allegedly haunts the house and surrounding area. He contends that because such an entity cannot be perceived by the five senses, it becomes impossible to quantify and accurately describe, thus earning itself the term unnamable. As the narration closes, this unnamable presence attacks both Carter and Manton. Both men survive and awaken later at St. Mary's hospital. They suffer from various lacerations, including scarring from a large horn-shaped object and bruises in the shape of hoof-prints on their backs. Manton describes the unnamable in the closing passage of the story: 

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Successful mystery novelist Janet Frobisher, who has been separated for years from her husband, a man with a criminal past, lives in an isolated home in Northern England. Her nearest neighbour is nosy veterinarian Dr Henderson. Janet has an affair with, and falls in love with, her secretary Chris' fiancé, Larry, who is years younger than she. When her estranged husband unexpectedly appears, Janet poisons him by administering medication given to her by Dr Henderson for her horse. One of the deceased man's criminal cohorts arrives as she's preparing to dispose of the body in the local lake. When Frobisher's secretary and Larry arrive at the secluded house, the mysterious man, who has assisted her with her scheme, impersonates George, the long-absent spouse of Janet. George and Janet trade accusations and insults. Chris learns of Larry's affair with Janet, and determines to leave for London. Janet tries to convince Larry to stay with her, but he loves Chris and chases after her unsuccessfully. George shoots Janet's horse to upset her. Janet pretends she is remorseful about Larry and Chris, and sends George after Chris in an unsafe vehicle. He crashes, but survives. The next morning the authorities are dragging the lake because of the crash. Janet's attempt to kill George has trapped them both, although George plans simply to run away. Janet tricks George into poisoning himself. As George dies, Dr Henderson arrives and says he knew all along that George was an imposter; the real George stopped by his house in the fog the night he arrived. Janet pretends to faint. Dr Henderson gives her a drink from the same flask she used to trick George. When she opens her eyes and recognises the flask, she realises she has killed herself, and bursts into hysterical laughter. 

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The film starts in Germany in 1943. During an Allied bombing raid Maria marries the soldier Hermann Braun. After "half a day and a whole night" together, Hermann returns to the Eastern front the following day. Following the end of the war, Maria is informed that Hermann has been killed. Maria starts work as a hostess in a bar frequented by American soldiers. She has a relationship with African-American soldier Bill, who supports her and gives her nylon stockings and cigarettes. She becomes pregnant by Bill. However, Hermann was not killed, and returns home to discover Maria and Bill undressing each other. A fight between Hermann and Bill ensues. When Hermann seems in danger, Maria unintentionally kills Bill, striking his head with a full bottle. Maria is tried by a military tribunal and expresses her love for both Bill and Hermann; Hermann is so struck with Maria's devotion that he takes the blame for the killing and is imprisoned. Maria (apparently) aborts her pregnancy and asks her doctor to promise to maintain the grave. On the train home, Maria catches the eye of a wealthy industrialist, Karl Oswald. Oswald, an older man, offers her a position as his assistant, and shortly thereafter Maria becomes his mistress to "maintain the upper hand". Maria visits Hermann again and tells him about the development, promising that their life will start as soon as he is released. Maria becomes wealthy and buys a house. Oswald visits Hermann and offers to make him and Maria heirs to his wealth if Hermann deserts Maria after his release. Neither man tells Maria of their agreement. On release, Hermann emigrates to Canada and sends Maria a red rose each month to remind her he still loves her. Following Oswald's death, Hermann returns to Germany and to Maria. When Oswald's will is read by Senkenberg, the executor, Maria hears about Oswald's agreement with Hermann. Distressed, Maria and Hermann briefly argue about how they supposedly sacrificed through their whole life for each other, then she goes into the kitchen to light a cigarette from the burner of the stovetop. Maria is offscreen as Hermann is seen watching her, when he lurches away and screams "Nein". Before this, Maria had left the gas stove opened after lighting up a cigarette in the same place. A moment later, the apartment suffers a gas explosion from the stove, killing Maria and Hermann. 

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As a voice-over narrates, a man is seen driving and ignoring amber traffic light signals, until the odds catch up with him and he strikes another "amber gambler". In getting out of his car to confront the other driver, the camera pulls back to reveal that the other person is himself. The phrase has been popularly used to succinctly describe high risk driving behaviors that enhance the likelihood of automobile collisions, damage, injury and death. It characterizes amber gambling as racing through amber lights at one end of the cycle or the other. 

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The informative film focuses entirely on the perspective of Ronald, a young boy who aspires to become a builder or surveyor when he grows up. His cousins Paul and Jane decide to test Ronald's know-it-all attitude by teleporting him to a building site, where Ronald must avoid several hazards and obstacles without getting hurt. In each test Ronald disobeys various warning signs and ignores the dangers, resulting in him getting killed in each one. Each time Ronald is about to die a heartbeat sound is played to warn sensitive viewers. In order, Ronald's deaths are displayed as him being buried alive in a trench collapse, electrocuted in a condemned building, run over by an earthmoving vehicle, breaking his skull against a metal retaining wall, crushed to death by a pile of bricks and finally drowning in a disused quarry. Back in the real world, Ronald announces he intends to abandon his ambitions, and goes outside to play with Paul and Jane. Over the closing shot of the film, Paul reads out real- life stories of children who were killed in similar ways to those seen in the film. 

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The story is told from the first-person perspective of an unnamed narrator and details his experiences with a scientist named Crawford Tillinghast. Tillinghast creates an electronic device that emits a resonance wave, which stimulates an affected person's pineal gland, thereby allowing them to perceive planes of existence outside the scope of accepted reality. Sharing the experience with Tillinghast, the narrator becomes cognizant of a translucent, inter-dimensional environment that overlaps our own recognized reality. From this perspective, he witnesses hordes of strange and horrific creatures that defy description. Tillinghast reveals that he has used his machine to transport his house servants into the overlapping plane of reality. He also reveals that the effect works both ways, and allows the inter-dimensional creature denizens of the alternate dimension to perceive humans. Tillinghast's servants were attacked and killed by one such inter- dimensional entity, and Tillinghast informs the narrator that it is right behind him. Terrified beyond measure, the narrator picks up a gun and shoots it at the machine, destroying it. Tillinghast dies immediately thereafter as a result of apoplexy. The police investigate the scene and it is placed on record that Tillinghast murdered the servants in spite of their remains never being found. 

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The narrative revolves around the efforts of a mediocre film director to save his job, his livelihood and, incidentally, the studio he works for. To do this, he enlists a mad scientist, the crooked studio owner, a jazz tuba player, a cowboy, two fabulously stupid movie stars, and a real live ocean-crossing Viking. He ends up making history, but in a way he never dreamed of. 

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While raiding Berk's Squab Farm, Mr. Fox triggers a fox trap caging himself along with his wife Felicity. Felicity reveals to her husband that she is pregnant and pleads with him to find a safer job if they escape, and he agrees. Two human years (12 fox years) later, the Foxes and their son Ash are living in a hole. Mr. Fox, now a newspaper columnist, moves the family into a better home inside a tree, ignoring the warnings of his lawyer, about how dangerous the area is for foxes due to its proximity to facilities run by three feared farmers: Boggis (a chicken farmer), Bunce (a duck and goose farmer) and Bean (a turkey and apple farmer). Soon after the Foxes move in, Felicity's nephew, Kristofferson Silverfox, comes to live with them. Ash finds this situation intolerable; his cousin is superior to him at almost everything, and everyone is charmed by Kristofferson. Longing for his days as a thief, Mr. Fox and his friend Kylie, an opossum, steal produce and poultry from all three farms for three straight nights. Angered, the farmers decide to kill Mr. Fox. They camp out near his home, and when Mr. Fox emerges, they open fire but only manage to shoot off his tail. After demolishing the site of the tree while attempting to dig Mr. Fox out, they discover the Foxes have dug an escape tunnel. As the Foxes will have to surface for food and water, the farmers wait at the tunnel mouth. Underground, Felicity is upset that Mr. Fox returned to his thieving ways. The group later encounters Badger and many other local animal residents whose homes have also been destroyed by the farmers. As the animals begin fearing starvation, Mr. Fox leads them on a digging expedition to tunnel to the three farms, robbing them. While the other animals feast, Ash and Kristofferson begin to reconcile after Kristofferson defends Ash from a bully. The cousins return to Bean's farm, intending to reclaim the missing tail but Kristofferson gets captured. Discovering that Mr. Fox has stolen their produce, the farmers and the fire chief flood the animals' tunnel network with some of Bean's cider, trapping the animals in the sewers. Realizing that the farmers plan to use Kristofferson to lure him into an ambush, Mr. Fox heads to the surface to surrender, but returns when Rat, Bean's security guard, confronts the animals and attacks Ash and Felicity. A fight between Mr. Fox and Rat results in the latter being pushed into a generator, electrocuting him. Before dying, Rat reveals Kristofferson's location. Mr. Fox asks the farmers for a meeting in town near the sewer hub where he would surrender in exchange for Kristofferson's freedom. The farmers prepare an ambush, but the animals, anticipating it, launch a counterattack that allows Mr. Fox, Ash, and Kylie to enter Bean's farm undetected. Ash frees Kristofferson and braves enemy fire to release a rabid beagle to keep the farmers at bay, allowing the group to escape. The animals soon settle into their new homes in the sewers, inviting any other animals to join them. Soon after, Fox raids a grocery store belonging to Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, where Felicity reveals she's pregnant again as the animals dance in the aisle. 

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During a vacation with his grandmother Helga in Norway, eight-year-old American boy Luke Eveshim is warned about witches, female demons with a boundless hatred for children and who use various methods of destroying or transforming them. Helga tells Luke how to tell a witch from an ordinary woman: real witches have claws instead of fingernails which they hide by wearing gloves, are bald which they hide by wearing wigs that give them rashes, have square feet with no toes which they hide by wearing plain shoes, have a purple tinge in their pupils and have a powerful sense of smell which they use to sniff out children; to a witch, children stink of dog's droppings. Helga says her childhood friend Erica fell victim to a witch and was cursed to spend the rest of her life trapped inside a painting, aging gradually until finally disappearing a few years earlier. After Luke's parents are killed in a car accident, Helga becomes Luke's legal guardian and they move to England. While playing outside, Luke is approached by a woman-(who tries luring him with a candy bar) who he quickly realizes is a witch when she takes off her sunglasses and he escapes. On Luke's ninth birthday, Helga falls ill with diabetes. Her doctor advises they spend the summer by the sea. At their seaside hotel, Luke meets and befriends a gluttonous but friendly boy, Bruno Jenkins. Luke gets on the bad side of the hotel manager, Mr. Stringer, after his pet mice frighten a maid. Also at the hotel is a convention of witches, masquerading as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The Grand High Witch, who is the all- powerful leader of the world's witches, is attending under the name Eva Ernst. Luke hides inside the ballroom and spies on the witches' meeting. Eva unveils her latest creation: a magic potion to turn all the world's children into mice. They will be used on confectionery products in sweet shops and candy stores to be opened using money provided by Eva. Bruno, who was given the potion earlier, is brought into the room, turns into a mouse and flees. Luke is discovered and runs to Helga in their room but finds her resting after having a dizzy spell. Eva seizes Luke and takes him back to the ballroom, where he is forced to drink the potion and turned into a mouse before escaping. He finds Bruno and reunites with Helga, who has since recovered. Luke devises a plan to defeat the witches by sneaking into Eva's room to steal a bottle of the potion, then sneaking into the kitchen and put it into the soup for the special RSPCC party. Luke and Helga try to get Bruno to his parents, but they do not believe her story and are frightened by the mouse. Mr. Jenkins orders the soup, though Helga stops him from consuming it. The Jenkins' finally realise Bruno is a mouse when he speaks up. As the witches enter the dining room, Miss Irvine, Eva's long-suffering and mistreated assistant, quits upon being banned from the celebration. The formula turns all the witches into mice, and the staff and hotel guests join in killing them, unknowingly ridding England of its witches. There, Eva is killed at the hands of Mr. Stringer, and Helga returns Bruno to his bewildered parents. Luke and Helga return home to where Eva's trunk full of money and an address book of all witches in the United States is delivered. That night, Miss Irvine – now a good witch – appears and transforms Luke back to human form, and returns his pet mice and glasses. She leaves to pay a visit to Bruno as Helga and Luke wave goodbye. Helga and Luke are planning to move back to the United States to kill all the witches in America. 

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The story follows a German goatherd from a fictional village named Sittendorf. While looking for escaped goats, Peter Klaus is led to where others are playing games in the woods. After tasting their wine, he falls asleep and wakes up twenty years later. 

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The plot follows very closely the fairytale by Perrault, with an instrumental introduction and inserted dances. 

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A nondescript spacer with little education named Cerne Obrien finds a cache of extremely valuable "retron crystals", but crashes on an idyllic planet before he can sell them. The planet has a single continent, inhabited by humans with a Polynesian culture. The natives live contented lives, hunting a horrific sea-creature called the koluf, which constitutes almost their entire diet. Obrien uses his surviving technology to rid the area of several pests, and eventually marries. The natives come to call him the "Langri", a title of deep respect. Obrien lives a peaceful life, watching his descendants grow up, but when he realizes he is getting old, he begins worrying about the future. Unscrupulous developers would inevitably attempt to turn the planet into a resort and marginalize the natives. Obrien could handle them if they arrived soon, but he cannot live forever. He has bright young people sent to him. He begins to teach them "the Plan". It is difficult to teach the non- technological natives all they need to know, as they have little concept of modern galactic society, but he manages it. His best pupil is a young man named Fornri. Even as Obrien lies dying, a developer called Wembling arrives to illegally prospect for minerals. The people, led by Fornri, put the Plan into effect. They first capture Wembling and his men, and the crews of the four scout ships sent to find Wembling. The Navy eventually arrives, official negotiations ensue, and a treaty is signed recognizing the planet under the name Langri. The people of Langri fine the Federation for illegal landings. In due course, this (and Obrien's retron crystals) allows the people of Langri to hire a law firm as specified in the Plan. Eventually Wembling realizes the planet's potential. He sees to it that the record of Langri's Galactic treaty is lost and procures a charter to develop a tourist resort. The construction drives away most of the koluf, and the people begin to starve; their adaptation to the environment has eliminated their ability to digest "normal" food. The starving people of Langri fail to get a court to stop Wembling; he has a seemingly valid charter. Meantime, Wembling's niece Talitha and his hired (and fired) anthropologist Hort form a relationship. They discover Obrien's wrecked craft and read his log, including his notes on the Plan; they are amazed that one man could have created such a complete and detailed scheme, including Obrien's masterstroke. Sympathizing with the natives and fearing to interfere with the Plan, they keep their newfound knowledge to themselves. In accordance with the Plan, the people of Langri have been secretly learning to read. After having achieved the required high literacy rate, they successfully petition for membership in the Galactic Federation. The Plan then enters its endgame: the duly formed planetary government imposes a tax rate of 1000%. Since the natives have few personal assets, they can easily afford to pay, but such an exorbitant rate would bankrupt Wembling. The developer mounts a legal challenge, but a government can impose any tax it wishes, as long as it is applied equally to all. Obrien knew of this obscure precedent and made it the cornerstone of the Plan. The government plans to build schools, parks, and hospitals to benefit the people. In the short story, it even hires Wembling, admiring his ruthless energy, if not his morals. (In the novel, he departs in disgust after trying to offer the new government a deal on a hotel.) 

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Basil Elton, a lighthouse keeper, engages in a peculiar fantasy in which a bearded man in robes is piloting a mystical white ship which appears when the moon is full. Elton walks across the water on a bridge of moonbeams, joins the bearded man on the ship, and together they explore a mystical chain of islands unlike anything that can be found on Earth. They travel past Zar, a green land where "dwell all the dreams and thoughts of beauty that come to men once and then are forgotten", then the majestic city of Thalarion, "City of a Thousand Wonders", where frightful demons dwell. They pass Akariel, the huge carven gate of Thalarion, and continue their voyage. Elton is informed that those who enter both places have never returned. During the voyage, they seem to be following an azure celestial bird. They also pass Xura, the "Land of Pleasures Unattained", which seems pleasant from a distance but reeks of plague upon getting nearer. They finally settle in Sona-Nyl, the "Land of Fancy", where Elton spends a period of time which he describes as "many aeons", living in what seems to be a perfect society. During his time in Sona-Nyl, he learns of Cathuria, the "Land of Hope". Though no man truly knows where Cathuria is or what lies there, Elton is thrilled with the idea, fantasizing about it wildly, and urges the bearded man to take him there, which the man reluctantly agrees to do. They follow the celestial bird westward. After a perilous journey to where the crew believes Cathuria to be, the ship instead finds itself at the edge of the world, and plummets to its doom. Elton awakens to find himself on the wet rocks next to his lighthouse, mere moments after he first departed on the white ship - and just in time to witness a catastrophic shipwreck caused by the light having gone out for the first time. He is further shaken by his later finding a dead azure bird and a spar of pure white. 

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The novel starts in a future dystopian earth where the United States has become a woefully inefficient bureaucratized nation. The public school system is primarily interested in promoting self- esteem rather than learning. For example, the vast majority of public high school graduates are illiterate, and end up in "the pool"; an endless crowd of unemployable youths depending on government assistance or crime for survival. The book is told from the perspective of the main character, a high school student named Rick who quickly finds himself expelled after a practical joke goes wrong. 

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John Carter's descendants In this novel Burroughs focuses on a younger member of the family established by John Carter and Dejah Thoris, protagonists of the first three books in the series. The heroine this time is their daughter Tara, princess of Helium, whose hand is sought by the gallant Gahan, Jed (prince) of Gathol. Both Helium and Gathol are prominent Barsoomian city states. Tara meets Prince Gahan of Gathol, and is initially unimpressed, viewing him as something of a popinjay. Later she takes her flier into a storm and loses control of the craft, and the storm carries her to an unfamiliar region of Barsoom. After landing and fleeing from a pack of ferocious Banths (Martian lions), she is captured by the horrific Kaldanes, who resemble large heads with small, crab-like legs. The Kaldanes have bred a symbiotic race of headless human-like creatures called Rykors, which they can attach themselves to and ride like a horse. The Kaldanes imprison Tara, intending to fatten her up, then eat her. While imprisoned, Tara manages to win over one of the Kaldanes, Ghek, with her lovely singing voice. Gahan, who has fallen in love with Tara, sets out to find her, only to find himself caught up in the same storm, and he falls overboard while attempting to rescue one of his crew. He stumbles upon Bantoom, realm of the Kaldanes, and manages to rescue Tara, and together with Ghek they flee in Tara's crippled flier. Tara doesn't recognize Gahan as the prince she met earlier, as he is worn from his ordeals and no longer dressed in his fancy clothes. In light of her earlier reaction to him, Gahan decides to keep his identity secret, and identifies himself instead as a Panthan (warrior) called Turan. The three of them manage to reach the isolated city of Manator. Gahan ventures into the city seeking food and water, but is tricked and taken prisoner by the inhabitants. Tara and Ghek are also captured. In Manator, captives are forced to a fight to the death in the arena, in a modified version of Jetan, a popular Barsoomian board game resembling Chess; the living version uses people as the game pieces on a life-sized board, with each taking of a piece being a duel to the death. 

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In the year 2025 the Internet and its virtual reality network have to be policed by the Net Force to prevent computer-terrorists from sabotaging it. Sometimes they need help, which is where the Net Force Explorers come in; they are the young people's auxiliary for computer whiz-kids who have made it through a tough training program. These include Maj (Madeline) Green, David Gray, Matt Hunter, Mark Gridley, Leif Anderson, Andy Moore, Megan O'Malley, Catie, and Charlie Davis. They are led by the kindly former-Marine commander, Captain James Winters, who has secrets of his own. Together, and separately, these young people solve cyber-crimes and defeat international terrorists while creating virtual worlds, playing high-tech computer games, and even entering a race. Though the emphasis of the series is on the Internet, and its virtual world, there are occasional glimpses into the future of the world in general. In one novel, there is a reference to a spy from "flat-films" and his assistant who used to make gadgets for him, probably a reference to James Bond and Q. The novel states that when the scientist character died, he was replaced with a hologram version of himself, a prediction of the future of Bond movies. In another novel, the characters are involved with a TV-series that appears to be a future version of Star Trek with a different name. 

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In 1797, William Wilberforce is severely ill and taking a recuperative holiday in Bath, Somerset, with his cousin, Henry Thornton. It is here that William is introduced to his future wife, Barbara Spooner. Although he initially resists any romantic overtures, she convinces him to relate the story of his career. The story flashes back 15 years to 1782, and William recounts the events that led him to where he is now. Beginning as a young, ambitious, and popular Member of Parliament (MP), he experiences a religious enlightenment and aligns himself with the evangelical wing of the Church of England. William contemplates leaving politics to study theology, but is persuaded by his friends William Pitt, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah More, and Olaudah Equiano that he will be more effective doing the work of God by taking on the unpopular and dangerous issue of the abolition of the British slave trade. His conviction in the cause deepens following a meeting with his former mentor John Newton (introduced mopping a church floor dressed in sackcloth) who is said to live "in the company of 20,000 ghosts... slaves". As a former slave ship captain turned Christian, he deeply regrets his past life and the effects on his fellow man. Newton urges William to take up the cause. Pitt becomes Prime Minister and William becomes a key supporter and confidant. Pitt gives William the opportunity to present a bill before the house outlawing the slave trade. William's passionate campaigning leads him to become highly unpopular in the House of Commons. He is opposed by a coalition of MPs representing vested interests of the slave trade in London, Bristol, Glasgow, and Liverpool led by Banastre Tarleton and the Duke of Clarence. Despite popular support and the assistance of an unlikely ally in the form of Charles James Fox, William's bill to abolish the slave trade goes down to defeat. Afterward, the film portrays Pitt as one of his few friends and allies remaining in Parliament, however even their relationship becomes strained. Pitt, now facing the stresses of leading a shaky coalition during the French Revolutionary Wars, tells William that his cause must now wait for a more stable political climate. William keeps up the fight but after years of failure he is left exhausted and frustrated that he was unable to change anything in the government. Believing his life's work has been in vain, he becomes physically ill, suffering from chronic colitis which causes him to become addicted to laudanum prescribed for the crippling pain, which brings the story back up to 1797. Having virtually given up hope, William considers leaving politics forever. Barbara convinces him to keep fighting because there is no other person who is willing or able to do so. A few days afterward, William and Barbara marry. Several years pass with no further success. William's wife and new children provide him with the support and strength needed to carry on the fight. Finally, with a renewed hope for success William devises a backdoor method of slowly weakening the slave trade through seemingly innocuous legislation. Aided by Thornton, Clarkson, and new ally James Stephen and cheered on by the now terminally ill Pitt, he reintroduces his bill to abolish the slave trade. In time, after the 20-year campaign and many attempts to bring legislation forward, he is eventually responsible for a bill being passed through Parliament in 1807, which abolishes the slave trade in the British Empire forever. 

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It also follows several other characters: *Tommy Hanson. Tommy Hanson is Britain's most successful musical artist and became famous after winning Pop Hero (ostensibly a reference to Pop Idol). He is an abuser of several drugs and narrates his story to people at his NA and AA meetings. His character is possibly inspired by Robbie Williams, whose name is mentioned several times in the novel. *Jessie. Jessie is a seventeen-year-old Scottish girl who, after running away from home to London, was coerced into prostitution. The story follows her battle to escape her pimp and her battle against her drug addiction. *Commander Barry Leman, a high ranking police officer who becomes obsessed with a personal quest for justice when a friend of his daughter's is horrifically sexually assaulted (and subsequently commits suicide) as a way of threatening him over his involvement with Peter Paget's campaign. *Emily Hilton-Smith, a drug-addicted socialite who publicly renounces drug use and joins Paget's campaign after the events of a night out force her to confront her addiction. *Samantha Spencer, Paget's beautiful but psychologically unhinged mistress. *Sonia, a teenage drug mule imprisoned in a Thai jail. 

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In 1960s London, Charles Dobbs (James Mason) is a staid MI5 operative investigating Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan (Robert Flemyng), a former Communist who apparently commits suicide. Dobbs becomes suspicious about the cause of Fennan's death while visiting Fennan's widow the morning after his death. When a wake-up call is received at Fennan's home, his widow Elsa (Simone Signoret) says the call was for her. Dobbs discovers this to be a lie, and as a result Dobbs suspects that Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi extermination camp, might have some clues regarding Fennan's death. Other government officials want Dobbs to drop the case. However, Dobbs privately links up with retired police inspector Mendel (Harry Andrews) to continue inquiries. They uncover a network of Communist agents. Dobbs also discovers that his wife Ann (Harriet Andersson) is leaving him to go to Switzerland to join a former World War II colleague, Dieter Frey (Maximilian Schell), who may be using Ann to gain knowledge of Dobbs' investigation. Dobbs uses his knowledge of Dieter to set a trap that proves that Elsa is a spy and Dieter is her control. In a final confrontation, Dieter strangles Elsa and shoots Mendel, but he is killed bare handed by the enraged Dobbs. 

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Two schoolboys are playing with a model plane on an abandoned military base in the English countryside. They are approached by two RAF personnel who rebuke them for trespassing, and take them to see their commanding officer. It soon becomes apparent that they are not really in the military and the two boys are kidnapped. In London a British intelligence officer, Major Tarrant, is engaged in an undercover operation to try to infiltrate a gang of arms smugglers – who are selling weapons to terrorists in Northern Ireland. He makes an initial approach with Celia Burrows, a member of the organisation. He arranges to come back the next week to meet her boss. He then heads to a large country house, where the head of MI6 Sir Edward Julyan lives, and makes a report about his operation to Julyan and his direct superior, Cedric Harper. While he is there he receives a telephone call from his wife – who tells him their son David has been taken and she has received a strange phone call. Tarrant reacts calmly, revealing to his superiors only that he has a family problem, and is given permission to leave. Tarrant goes to his wife's home in time to receive a second call from a man identifying himself as Drabble. Drabble demonstrates he knows exactly who Tarrant is and what jobs he does. He instructs him to get Harper to answer the next phone call – making it clear he has Tarrant's son David and is prepared to torture him. Tarrant goes to Harper, and informs him of the situation. Harper agrees to take the phone call and begins to put a surveillance operation into motion – to discover the identity of Drabble. When Drabble gets in touch, he demands that Harper give him £500,000 in uncut diamonds and make a rendezvous in Paris. Harper had recently acquired that exact amount of diamonds to fund another operation he has planned. Harper deduces that Drabble must be acting with information supplied by a member of British intelligence. He immediately begins to suspect Tarrant of staging the kidnapping, and has him placed under observation. Tarrant, meanwhile, has to assign his arms-smuggling case to another officer. The Drabble gang have placed incriminating evidence into Tarrant's flat, which appears to show a relationship with Celia Burrows, and this is found by Scotland Yard officers conducting a search. This further fuels Harper's belief that Tarrant has in fact arranged the entire kidnapping himself. Harper meets with Tarrant in his office and tells him that he cannot allow the ransom to be met, as the British government does not negotiate with terrorists. Tarrant seemingly accepts this, but when Harper has departed, he breaks into his office and impersonates Harper on a secure telephone – arranging to have the diamonds made available. He then takes them to Paris to make the rendezvous – giving the slip to the tail Harper has placed on him. In Paris he is met by Celia Burrows at the rendezvous. She takes him to a building where it is claimed Tarrant's son is being held. It soon becomes apparent to Tarrant that Drabble has not got his son there. Instead Drabble makes a cryptic reference to a place in Southern England where there is a view of two windmills. Once he has got the diamonds the ruthless Drabble murders Celia Burrows, and leaves an unconscious Tarrant lying beside the corpse. Tarrant is arrested by the French police – and handed over to Harper and British intelligence. A rescue is then staged by Drabble gang, freeing Tarrant from Harper's custody, but then trying to murder him. Tarrant manages to escape and head back to England. He realises that Drabble meant to try to silence him for good – therefore protecting whoever in British intelligence was supplying him from information. Tarrant then attempts to flush out the traitor, by pretending to be Drabble and arranging a rendezvous at the two windmills with various senior British officers which he now knows to be the Clayton Windmills near Brighton. The man who comes to the rendezvous is Sir Edward Julyan who is ambushed by Tarrant. Under duress he admits that he arranged the whole thing as he urgently needed large amounts of money to enjoy a comfortable retirement with his free-spending wife. He tries to get Tarrant to accept half the value of the diamonds, but he refuses – and instead demands to know the whereabouts of his son. Julyan tells him that he is being held in the black windmill by Drabble. Tarrant then storms the windmill and rescues his son, killing Drabble and his henchman. He carries David out of the windmill and along the road singing "Underneath the spreading chestnut tree" to him. 

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Dr. Will Jennings, a research physician, has landed his major career break by patenting a new anesthetic drug. After speaking at a conference regarding the patent in a Seattle hotel, he is met by a strange woman, Cheryl, who introduces herself as an admirer of his work. Cheryl attempts to seduce Will in the hallway, before holding him at gunpoint and forcing him into his hotel room. She demands a ransom for his young daughter, Abby. Meanwhile, Cheryl's husband, Joe, has broken into Will's luxurious Portland, Oregon home, and confronts Will's wife, Karen, who has returned after picking Abby up from school. Joe sends Abby away with his cousin, Marvin, while Karen attempts to fight the attack, but is ultimately thwarted when Joe holds her hostage at gunpoint. Marvin drives Abby to a remote cabin in the woods, but soon discovers that Abby suffers from asthma and is dependent on an inhaler. Abby begins to have an asthma attack, which causes Marvin to panic and phone Joe. Joe agrees to drive Karen to the cabin to administer the inhaler, blindfolding her for the car ride. An emotional Karen stops Abby's attack with the medication, but is quickly forced back into the car by Joe. Joe brings Karen back to her home, where she attempts to fight him, but he subdues her and then rapes her. When her neighbor, Joan, stops by unannounced, Karen is forced to pretend that she has been caught having an affair with Joe. After Joan leaves, Karen manages to slash Joe with a concealed scalpel and locks herself in the bathroom where she receives a phone call from Abby, who has snuck out of the cabin with Marvin's cell phone. The call is short-lived, however, as Marvin recaptures Abby, and Joe forces his way into the bathroom. With Karen under his control again, Joe makes her suture his wound. At the hotel, Will manages to inject Cheryl with succinylcholine, paralyzing her and bringing her near the edge of death before he administers an antidote. Fearing for her life, Cheryl also loses her nerve, and admits to Will that she and Joe constructed the plot as revenge for their daughter, Katie, who died during a recent brain operation; Will assisted on Katie's surgery. When Will explains that he was wrongly implicated by the head surgeon in the negligence that caused Katie's death, Cheryl begins to sympathize with him, and agrees to botch the plan. In the morning, Cheryl accompanies Will to a bank to retrieve the ransom money while they are monitored by police. Joe and Cheryl have a heated argument on the phone, in which it is revealed that Joe intended to keep Abby after receiving the ransom and raise her as his own daughter. Will and Cheryl board a seaplane to fly toward Portland, where Joe and Karen are embarking on a freeway toward them to exchange the money; traveling behind them are Marvin and Abby in a separate SUV. Karen attacks Joe in the car, forcing them off the freeway. As Will and Cheryl fly over the freeway, they spot Joe's car, and land the seaplane on the road, causing a multi-car pileup. Marvin loses control of the SUV in the melee and crashes. While Joe chastises Cheryl, Marvin orders Abby out of the car, and urges her to find her parents. Abby is briefly captured by Cheryl, but released when a physical fight ensues between Will and Joe, which ultimately ends with Karen shooting Joe to death. Police and agents of the FBI descend on the scene as Abby suffers another asthma attack, but Karen is able to treat her with the inhaler. Cheryl is captured by police as Karen, Will, and Abby embrace. 

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While on station in the Aegean Sea under the guise of a hydrographic survey mission, the crew of Royal Navy electronic intelligence vessel HMS Ariadne witnesses two disasters at once, a mysterious strategic bomber crashing into the sea and a large pleasure yacht on fire and sinking. The plane turns out to have been loaded with nuclear weapons, and the survivors rescued from the yacht (who include a wealthy Greek tycoon) appear somehow connected with the plane's destruction. With potential saboteurs aboard, Commander Talbot and the crew of the Ariadne must raise the one activated weapon before it can explode, setting off the others by sympathetic detonation and causing the nearby volcano of Santorini to explode in a tremendous eruption which would bring on a devastating tsunami and possibly a worldwide nuclear winter. 

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Meeper, the janitor of an alien pub called the Ale-E-Inn, has higher aspirations—a karaoke performer. After he accidentally electrocutes a singer, he is ejected from the pub. Outside, he is told by an incautious Gungan that "The ChubbChubbs are coming!" Meeper sees aircraft land in the distance, and huge, weapon-bearing monsters exit the craft. He assumes these are the ChubbChubbs. Meeper rushes to warn the pub, and some chicks he finds pecking at the ground outside, but each of his attempts further injures the singer. Once the patrons are finally warned by a different visitor, the pub is promptly emptied due to said patrons taking off in panic, leaving Meeper behind during the process. When the monsters begin closing in to the pub, Meeper hides the chicks under his bucket in an attempt to save them. He then launches into a rendition of "Why Can't We Be Friends?" until, caught up in the song, he accidentally trips over the bucket, revealing the chicks. The monsters flee, screaming, "It's the ChubbChubbs!" The chicks reveal their razor sharp teeth and devour the monsters, who are actually known as Zyzaks. They gather around Meeper, who says, "So... You guys into karaoke?" As the credits roll, Meeper and the ChubbChubbs sing a rewrite of Aretha Franklin's Respect in the pub. When the song is finished, there is dead silence. The ChubbChubbs glare and reveal their teeth, and the crowd hastily bursts into applause. 

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In 1928, Arthur Spiderwick writes a Field guide about the many Fairies he has encountered. After finishing the Book, he hides it away for fear of Mulgarath, a shapeshifting ogre who plans to use the Book’s secrets for evil. Eighty years later, recently divorced Helen Grace inherits and moves into the abandoned Spiderwick estate with her children, daughter Mallory and twin sons Jared and Simon. Jared is angry about the move and would rather live with his father. After uncovering a hidden dumbwaiter, Jared discovers Arthur’s study where he finds the Field Guide. When Jared explains his discovery of the Book and the existence of magical creatures, his family doesn't believe him. In the morning, Jared meets a fairy named Thimbletack and attempts to feed him crackers and honey. Thimbletack, a type of fairy called a brownie, is initially angry with Jared for having opened the book that Thimbletack was supposed to be protecting from the Mulgarath. Later, however, he gives Jared a holed stone. Looking through the hole in the stone, Jared see the normally invisible Faeries. Thimbletack tells him about the protective mushroom circle surrounding the house. Jared witnesses Simon’s abduction by goblins, led by Redcap. Simon is taken to the goblins’ campsite where he is confronted by Mulgarath who is disguised as a old man. Jared sneaks into the campsite where he meets Hogsqueal, a hobgoblin, who gives Jared the ability to see Faeries without the stone by spitting in his eyes so he can help him get revenge on Mulgarath for killing his family. Mulgarath releases Simon so he can fetch the Book for him. Jared finds Simon and both fight over the book before they are chased by the goblins. The twins flee back to the house, and Mallory fights them off with her fencing foil. The children decide to visit Arthur’s daughter, their great-aunt Lucinda Spiderwick, for advice. While Simon distracts the goblins, Mallory and Jared escape through an underground tunnel. Chased by a troll sent by Redcap, they narrowly escape when it is struck and killed by an oncoming truck. Jared and Mallory meet the elderly Lucinda in the psychiatric hospital where she lives, surrounded by sprites. She tells the children that they need to find her father and have him destroy the book and that, for eighty years, Arthur has been held captive by the sylphs. At that moment, Redcap and his goblins attack them through the window and manage to tear off several pages from the book before being driven off. Among the stolen pages, Mulgarath is pleased to find information on how to break the protective circle. While driving her children home, Helen and Jared argue over her disbelief; Jared angrily tells Helen that he hates her and doesn't want to live with her anymore. Later, Hogsqueal, having overheard Mulgarath’s plan, informs the children. Jared, Simon, and Mallory use the book to summon a griffin, which takes them to sylphs’ realm. There, they meet Arthur, who has not aged and is unaware of the time he has spent there. Jared asks him to destroy the book only to find out that Thimbletack had switched the pages and kept the real Book. Arthur is relieved until Jared tells him that Mulgarath knows how to break the protective circle. Arthur informs Jared that the sylphs won't allow them to leave as they, like him, know too much about the Faeries. Arthur helps them escape by distracting the sylphs with the fake book. Once home, the children finally convince Helen of the truth. Meanwhile, the goblins finish spreading their potion, which successfully breaks the circle as the full moon rises. The family defend themselves with kitchen knives and tomato sauce/salt bombs (ingredients deadly to goblins), and manage to kill the goblins in an explosion of tomato sauce. Suddenly, the children’s father, Richard, appears; however, Jared stabs him, revealing him to be Mulgarath in disguise. Mulgarath pursues Jared and the Book throughout the house before cornering him on the roof. Jared tosses the Book and Mulgarath transforms into a raven to catch it, but he is suddenly grabbed and eaten by Hogsqueal. Afterwards, Jared and his mother reconcile. Weeks later, the family brings Lucinda to visit the house. The sylphs arrive with Arthur, allowing him to briefly visit now that the Book is safe. However, Arthur cannot stay long as he will turn to dust if he remains. Lucinda asks to go with him and is transformed back into a child. The Grace family watch as the sylphs spirit Arthur and Lucinda away. 

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As the film opens, Julie Kohler (Jeanne Moreau) tries to throw herself out of an upstairs window, but is stopped by her mother (Luce Fabiole). Julie is dressed in black and is obviously grief-stricken. In the next scene, she is more composed, telling her mother she is going on a long trip, and counting out five piles of money. She gets onto a train, but right afterwards steps down on the opposite side, hidden from onlookers. The next time Julie is seen, her hair is different, she is wearing white, and looking for a man called Bliss (Claude Rich). He is a ladies' man who is having a party on the eve of his wedding. When Julie arrives, aloof but attractive, he cannot resist approaching her. When they are alone on the balcony of Bliss's high-rise apartment, she tells him her name and pushes him off the balcony. Her next victim is Coral (Michel Bouquet), a lonely bachelor. She lures him to a concert and they agree to meet the following night. Before their rendezvous, Julie buys a bottle of arak and injects a syringe of poison into it. When she meets Coral at his apartment, she serves him the drink. When he collapses in agony, she reveals her identity to him. He begs for his life, explaining that it was all an accident. In a flashback, there is a wedding procession on the steps of a church; a single shot rings out and the groom falls to the ground. Julie is the widowed bride. The next man is Morane (Michel Lonsdale) a would- be politician. She follows his wife and young son home, befriends the boy, and gets the wife to leave by sending a fake telegram that the wife's mother is ill. Julie poses as the boy's teacher Miss Becker, and offers to cook dinner for Morane and his son. Afterwards she plays hide-and-seek with the boy, hiding in an enclosed small closet underneath the stairs, before putting the boy to bed. As she is leaving the house, she pretends that she has lost her ring. Morane helps her search, crawling into the closet where she had hidden earlier. She slams the door and locks him inside. Julie reveals her true identity, and he pleads for his life, saying what happened was an accident. Another flashback reveals that Julie's husband was killed by a rifle shot fired by Delvaux (Daniel Boulanger), member of an informal hunting club that also included Bliss, Coral, Morane and Fergus. The five men were carelessly horsing around with a loaded rifle in an upper room across the street from the church. After the incident, they went their separate ways, intending never to reveal their involvement in the groom's death. Remorseless, Julie uses duct tape to seal the door of Morane's closet, and he suffocates to death. Julie waits in Delvaux's junkyard, planning to kill him with a handgun, but he is arrested by the police. Julie moves on to find the fifth member of the hunting group: Fergus (Charles Denner), an artist. Julie models for him as the huntress Diana, eventually shooting him in the back with an arrow. She cuts her face out of his painting to remove the only evidence of her presence. When she discovers that Fergus had painted a mural on his wall depicting her reclining in the nude, she gets some paint to cover the mural's face, but hears someone coming and has to leave. Julie attends Fergus' funeral and allows herself to be arrested. She admits that she murdered the four men, but refuses to reveal her motives. Inside a prison, a meal cart is making its rounds. Julie is a prisoner in the women's wing, and Delvaux is on the men's side. When Julie works in the kitchen, she hides a knife. When the cart makes its rounds with Julie as one of the attendants, it turns a corner out of our sight. After a brief pause, a man's scream is heard. 

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; Characters * Holloway * Wolf * Sterling * Risa * West * Hambone * Memphis The play takes place in the Hill District, an African- American neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1969. It explores the social and psychological manifestations of changing attitudes toward race from the perspective of urban blacks. 

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Arkarian is kidnapped by the Order of Chaos, who plan to weaken the Guard by erasing his birth. Isabel is determined to save him, but that means defying Lorian's orders, risking her life, and facing the underworld itself. Going through many hardships in the underworld with her friend Ethan, and brother Matt. They meet a new friend along the way ( John Wren ) but also rescuing Ethan's sister who was killed when he was a boy ( she is a ghost/spirit ) - ( a wren is a birdlike creature but still has somewhat the appearance of a human ). When rescuing Arkarian, they gain another member of the guard Dillon who was working for the Order of Chaos but came to the good side. Arkarian and Isabel realise they love each other and Arkarian saves them by opening a rift. When they return Lorian summons Isabel to a hearing and Arkarian pleads for her life and finds out Lorian is his father. At the hearing Isabel is pardoned and Lorian grants her the power to cease ageing so she and Arkarian can be together. 

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Guido Contini, famous Italian film director, has turned forty and faces double crises: he has to shoot a film for which he can't write the script, and his wife of twenty years, the film star Luisa del Forno, may be about to leave him if he can't pay more attention to the marriage. As it turns out, it is the same crisis. Luisa's efforts to talk to him seem to be drowned out by voices in his head: voices of women in his life, speaking through the walls of his memory, insistent, flirtatious, irresistible, potent. Women speaking beyond words (Overture delle Donne). And these are the women Guido has loved, and from whom he has derived the entire vitality of a creative life, now as stalled as his marriage. In an attempt to find some peace and save the marriage, they go to a spa near Venice (Spa Music), where they are immediately hunted down by the press with intrusive questions about the marriage and—something Guido had not told Luisa about—his imminent film project (Not Since Chaplin). As Guido struggles to find a story for his film, he becomes increasingly preoccupied—his interior world sometimes becoming indistinguishable from the objective world (Guido's Song). His mistress Carla arrives in Venice, calling him from her lonely hotel room (A Call from the Vatican), his producer Liliane La Fleur, former vedette of the Folies Bergeres, insists he make a musical, an idea which itself veers off into a feminine fantasy of extraordinary vividness (The Script/Folies Bergeres). And all the while, Luisa watches, the resilience of her love being consumed by anxiety for him and a gathering dismay for their lives together (My Husband Makes Movies / Only With You). Guido's fugitive imagination, clutching at women like straws, eventually plunges through the floor of the present and into his own past where he encounters his mother, bathing a nine-year-old boy—the young Guido himself (Nine). The vision leads him to re-encounter a glorious moment on a beach with Saraghina, the prostitute and outcast to whom he went as a curious child, creeping out of his Catholic boarding school St. Sebastian, to ask her to tell him about love. Her answer, be yourself (Ti Voglio Bene / Be Italian), and the dance she taught him on the sand echoes down to the forty-year-old Guido as a talisman and a terrible reminder of the consequences of that night—punishment by the nuns and rejection by his appalled mother (The Bells of St. Sebastian). Unable to bear the incomprehensible dread of the adults, the little boy runs back to the beach to find nothing but the sand and the wind—an image of the vanishing nature of love, and the cause of Guido Contini's artistry and unanchored peril: a fugitive heart. Back into the present, Guido is on a beach once more. With him, Claudia Nardi, a film star, muse of his greatest successes, who has flown from Paris because he needs her, but this time she does not want the role. He cannot fathom the rejection. He is enraged. He fails to understand that Claudia loves him, too, but wants him to love her as a woman 'not a spirit'—and he realizes too late that this was the real reason that she came—in order to know, and now she does. He cannot love her that way. She is in some way released to love him for what he is, and never to hope for him again. Wryly she calls him "My charming Casanova!" thereby involuntarily giving Guido the very inspiration he needs and for which has always looked to her. As Claudia lets him go with "Unusual Way," Guido grasps the last straw of all—a desperate, inspired movie—a 'spectacular in the vernacular'—set on "The Grand Canal" and cast with every woman in his life. The improvised movie is a spectacular collision between his real life and his creative one—a film that is as self-lacerating as it is cruel, during which Carla races onto the set to announce her divorce and her delight that they can be married only to be brutally rejected by Guido in his desperate fixation with the next set-up, and which climaxes with Luisa, appalled and moved by his use of their intimacy—and even her words—as a source for the film, finally detonating with sadness and rage. Guido keeps the cameras rolling, capturing a scene of utter desolation—the women he loves, and Luisa whom he loves above all, littered like smashed porcelain across the frame of his hopelessly beautiful failure of a film. "Cut. Print!" The film is dead. The cast leaves. They all leave. Carla, with "Simple"—words from the articulate broken heart, Claudia with a letter from Paris to say that she has married, and Luisa in a shattering exit from a marriage that has, as she says, been 'all of me' (Be On Your Own). Guido is alone. "I Can't Make This Movie" ascends into the scream of "Guido out in space with no direction,' and he contemplates suicide. But, as the gun is at his head, there is a final life-saving interruption—from his nine-year- old self (Getting Tall), in which the young Guido points out it is time to move on. To grow up. And Guido surrenders the gun. As the women return in a reprise of the Overture (Reprises), but this time to let him go, only one is absent: Luisa. Guido feels the aching void left by the only woman he will ever love. In the 2003 Broadway production, as the boy led the women off into his own future to the strains of "Be Italian", Luisa steps into the room on the final note, and Guido turned toward her—this time ready to listen. 

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The life of Nick Keller (Til Schweiger) can hardly be called well sorted. He stumbles from one temporary job to the next, and he has very serious problems with Heinrich, his rich and influential stepfather, as well as with his brother Viktor. Nick's latest temporary job is as a cleaner in a psychiatric clinic, where he prevents the barefooted patient Leila (Wokalek) from committing suicide just as he is being fired from this latest employment. Leila's story is also complex. The first nineteen years of her life she had been confined at home by her mother. She has been hospitalized in the clinic after her mother's death, but is desperate to leave. However, emotionally Leila is still a child. For example, everything that she is told, she takes literally; and she dislikes physical contact with strangers. The unexpected consequence of Nick's saving Leila from hanging herself is that Leila secretly follows her saviour, in her nightdress and once again barefooted; and she appears in front of his door that night. After Leila adamantly refuses go back to the clinic, she and Nick go on a road trip together in order to attend his brother's wedding to Nick's ex-girlfriend. During the trip the relationship between the two deepens significantly. However, after serious disputes with his family, Nick once again tries to hospitalize Leila. As a result, he has to confess to himself that he has fallen in love with her. Nick is then arrested for attempted kidnapping, and Leila is brought back to the clinic. Nick pretends to have mental problems so he can go into the clinic with Leila, but only after Leila once again attempts suicide does her doctor admit him. The last scene shows them together shopping in a supermarket some months later, after their release from the clinic. 

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During their journey to the Pole of Inaccessibility (POI), the remotest point of the Antarctic, the expedition of six men, led by Captain Choi Do-hyung, discovers a journal that was left behind by a British expedition 80 years earlier. The journal was remarkably preserved in a box in the snow and Kim Min-jae, another member of the expedition, gets the job of examining it. It turns out that the two expeditions shared the same goal and soon other strange similarities between them start to show up. Will they make it to their destination before the sun goes down for the Antarctic winter? 

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Homer panics after seeing that all his white work shirts are dyed pink because Bart tossed his red hat in the laundry. He is forced to wear a pink shirt to work, where Mr. Burns suspects his fashion choices reveal he is a "free-thinking anarchist". Homer is sent home with a psychiatric quiz to allow Dr. Marvin Monroe to assess his sanity. Homer makes Bart complete the quiz because he is too lazy to do it himself. When Dr. Monroe sees the results, he declares Homer insane and sends him to a mental institution. He is put in a cell with a large white man who introduces himself as Michael Jackson. Being unfamiliar with the _real_ Michael Jackson, Homer believes and quickly befriends him. Marge visits Homer at the mental hospital and convinces his doctors that he is not insane. When Michael reveals that he is in the asylum voluntarily, Homer invites him to stay with the Simpsons. Despite promising to keep it secret, Bart blabs about Michael Jackson coming to his house; soon all of Springfield gathers outside to see the pop star. The crowd's excitement wanes when Homer introduces Michael and they realize he is an impostor. Angry at Bart, the townspeople leave. Lisa reminds Bart that he forgets her birthday every year, so he promises to get her a present this year. In his excitement over Michael Jackson's arrival, Bart fails to acknowledge her birthday. After overhearing a distraught Lisa compose a letter disowning her brother, the faux Michael convinces Bart to let him help heal their rift. Together they write and perform a song for her called "Happy Birthday Lisa". The song thrills Lisa, who declares it the best present ever. Michael then reveals that his real name is Leon Kompowsky, a bricklayer from Paterson, New Jersey. He explains that he had been filled with anger most of his life, but found solace when talking in Jackson's voice because it made people happy. Leon bids farewell to the Simpsons, singing Lisa's birthday song to himself in his normal voice. 

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Sophie is a young orphaned girl living in the orphanage of the cantankerous and abusive Mrs. Clonkers. One night, Sophie wakes up and goes to look through the window but sees a cloaked giant blowing something through a trumpet into a bedroom window down the street; whereupon the giant notices her and snatches her to the realm of Giant Country. In his cave, the giant identifies himself as the Big Friendly Giant (the BFG for short) who blows dreams into the bedrooms of children at night, while all the other 9 giants are vicious, child-eating beasts. Because the BFG refuses to eat people or steal food from humans, he subsists on a revolting vegetable known as a "Snozzcumber", which is all that grows in Giant Country. He explains that he took her so she couldn't tell anyone that she had seen him and start a giant hunt. Sophie and BFG quickly become friends; but Sophie is soon put in danger by the sudden arrival of the Bloodbottler Giant, who suspects BFG of harbouring a human after hearing him talking. BFG tricks the Bloodbottler into eating the Snozzcumber to repel him from his cave, during which Sophie is almost eaten. BFG makes her a new dress out of her blanket to replace her ruined nightgown. When Sophie announces she is thirsty, BFG treats her to a delicious fizzy drink called "Frobscottle", whose bubbles go downwards, which causes the drinker to flatulate; this is known as a "whizzpopper" to giants, and causes the drinker to soar and shoot around the place. The next morning, BFG takes Sophie to Dream Country to catch more dreams, but they are first tormented by the other giants along the way; notably by the Fleshlumpeater Giant, who is the largest and most fearsome and hideous. In Dream Country, BFG demonstrates his dream-catching skills to Sophie and teaches her to fly; but BFG mistakenly captures the worst kind of nightmare. Upon arriving at his Dream Cave, BFG shows Sophie all the dreams he has captured already and locks away the nightmare in his cavern of lava in a tiny chest, and takes Sophie to watch him on his dream-blowing duties; but this is cut short when they spot the Fleshlumpeater about to eat a little boy whom BFG had previously given a pleasant dream. When Sophie tries to intervene, BFG flees with her and escapes to save her from the Fleshlumpeater. Afterwards, the grief-stricken Sophie tries to persuade BFG to stop the evil giants. At first, BFG is reluctant to do so out of cowardliness and low trust in humans; but Sophie develops a plan to expose the evil giants to the Queen of the United Kingdom. Using dreams from his collection, BFG creates a nightmare, blows it into the Queen's bedroom, leaves Sophie on the Queen's windowsill to confirm the dream and retreats into the palace gardens when Sophie calls him. Because the dream included foreknowledge of Sophie's presence, the Queen believes her story, and speaks with BFG. After considerable effort by the palace staff, BFG is given a copious breakfast. Once ready, the army and the airforce, in a fleet of RAF Chinook helicopters, follow BFG to Giant Country to the 9 giants' homeland, where the giants are tied up and taken prisoner. The only one that is not there is the Fleshlumpeater, who immediately attacks BFG for his betrayal and later pursues Sophie when she intervenes; but after a long chase he is stopped when BFG subdues him with the nightmare he had captured earlier, which he later reveals was a nightmare about Jack and the Beanstalk, both of which all giants, including BFG himself, fear. The tethered giants are then all transported by the helicopters to London, where they are imprisoned in a deep metal pit and forced to eat Snozzcumbers for the rest of their lives. The orphanage is closed down and sold to become a teacherage so the children move into the palace and Mrs. Clonkers is given the job of feeding giants. Contrary to the book's ending, BFG stays in Giant Country instead of moving to England, and Sophie becomes his assistant at the distribution of dreams and people think they will visit Buckingham Palace sometimes. 

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The Federation starship Defiant carries the senior staff of Deep Space Nine into the Gamma Quadrant to settle trade arrangements with the Karemma representative, Hanok. As the Dominion disapproves of trading with the Federation, the talks take place secretly in orbit around a gas giant and are mediated by the Ferengi Quark. Hanok is disgusted to learn that Quark has been lining his pockets by imposing fictitious Federation tariffs. The negotiations are interrupted when a pair of Jem'Hadar ships fire on the Karemma ship. The Jem'Hadar chase the ship into the atmosphere of the gas giant, and the Defiant takes off in pursuit. The Jem'Hadar open fire on the Defiant, crippling it in the turbulent fluorine atmosphere of the planet. Science Officer Jadzia Dax heads below to try to repair the engines. She is successful but is nearly blown out of the ship when the hull is breached. Dr. Bashir saves her, but they are trapped in a turbolift shaft with a diminishing supply of oxygen and without communication with the rest of the crew, who presume them lost. One of the Jem'Hadar ships attacks. The Defiant destroys it, but not before it is able to render the Defiant helpless again; Captain Sisko is gravely injured with a concussion. Major Kira tends to him, trying to keep him conscious. Quark is trapped in the mess hall with Hanok, where a live Jem'Hadar torpedo lodges itself in the hull. Combining their cleverness—and taking a gamble—to defuse the torpedo helps Hanok get over his mistrust of Quark. Dax and Bashir huddle together for warmth; Bashir appreciates the irony that being trapped with Jadzia in his arms was once a fantasy of his. On the bridge, Kira cares for Sisko, telling him a Bajoran fairy tale to try to keep him awake, and regretting that her reverence for him as the prophesied "Emissary" has prevented them from being closer friends. Lt. Cdr. Worf and Chief O'Brien work on putting the Defiants engines back together; O'Brien helps Worf learn how to tactfully manage the engineering team. The Defiant is eventually able to destroy the second Jem'Hadar fighter and rescue the Karemma crew. Upon returning to Deep Space Nine, Hanok gambles at Quark's bar, and Sisko invites Kira to watch a baseball game with him in the holosuite. 

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Happy Hustle High follows the exploits of Hanabi Ozora. Hanabi is an assertive 16-year-old who protects her less assertive friends. The all-girls school that Hanabi attends, Uchino High School, is merged with Meibi High School, an all-boys school. Once there, Hanabi meets Yasuaki Garaku, a student council member who is also a surfer. Yasuaki expresses the fact that he has no interest in girls. When the Girls' council and the Boys' council start to fight, Hanabi jumps in, hoping that she can convince Yasuaki to change his mind. 

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According to the legend, five hundred years ago, there was an insignificant lord who possessed a mysterious power that drew (supernatural creatures) to him. A demon exterminator, Tokimori Hazama, was called upon to protect the lord and his castle. The lord's power stayed on the land even when he had died. Thus, Tokimori founded the Hazama clan, who inherited his techniques, to protect the land for centuries to come. This land is . In the present day, Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs of the Hazama clan, are the that protect Karasumori (which is located on the grounds of the school they attend). They are ability users (people who can use supernatural powers) who use a technique called . Kekkai is a form of magical energy barrier which is primarily used to capture and destroy ayakashi that are drawn to this . Any ayakashi that stay on the land become stronger. Yoshimori and Tokine are to guard the land from the intrusion of ayakashi who try to "power-up" there. Yoshimori and Tokine suffered a lot of hardships in their responsibilities to protect Karasumori. The ayakashi they must fight are becoming more and more powerful, but they managed to protect the land with the help from Yoshimori's older brother, Masamori Sumimura, and the . The Shadow Organization itself is an organization of ability users that is governed by a council of twelve, consisting of high level ability users. All the members are not the main inheritors of their clans lands or titles, or are loners who have no place to go, and thus have become a force that controls the course of their country. Many ayakashi try to become more powerful by using Karusumori’s power, including Kokuboro (a group of ayakashi attempting to restore their leaders power), corrupt members of Urakai’s council of twelve who either were in league with Kokuboro or trying to kill another council member. Eventually a civil war begins between the leader and founder of Urakai, the leader (a powerful psychic who became a puppet of the founder) and the founder (another powerful psychic who alone with his power create Urakai, an army/intelligence agency at his disposal) who have become disembodied creatures who can possess others to act as their bodies to fool the other members into thinking the leadership of Urakai has changed hands. Over the course of the story it is revealed little by little that the legend is full of lies. The real source of Karasumori's power is , an illegitimate son of the Hazama clan's founder, Tokimori Hazama, and the Karasumori clan's heiress. Tokimori used forbidden arts to try to give his son unearthly power, but the plan backfired, and instead gave Chūshinmaru the power to draw people's life force, killing everybody around him. Tokimori was forced to seal his own son beneath Karasumori. However, being alone with no aid Tokimori was unable to completely seal off the Shinkai he created. Which allowed Chūshinmaru's power to leak out, and it is this that draws ayakashi to the land. In the end, with the help of Yoshimori's mother and Tokimori, Yoshimori and Tokine find a new site for Chūshinmaru by displacing the founder of the Urakai from the domain of a land-god that the founder had taken over. To seal Chūshinmaru, Yoshimori's mother sacrifices herself by sealing the domain with herself inside. The series end with Urakai finally becoming better for all and the two families duties are finally finished ending their personal rivalry, with Yoshimori finally feeling everything was right with the world. 

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The Beatles filming a sequence for "I Am the Walrus" The situation is that of a group of people on a British mystery tour"A pleasure excursion to an unspecified destination" as per Entry: mystery tour", Oxford Dictionaries in a 1967 coach, focusing mostly on Richard B. Starkey (Ringo Starr) and his recently widowed Aunt Jessie (Jessie Robins). Other group members on the bus include the tour director, Jolly Jimmy Johnson (Derek Royle); the tour hostess, Miss Wendy Winters (Miranda Forbes, credited as Mandy Weet); the conductor, Buster Bloodvessel (Ivor Cutler); and the other Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison). During the course of the tour, "strange things begin to happen" at the whim of "four or five magicians", four of whom are played by the Beatles themselves and the fifth by the band's long-time road manager Mal Evans. During the journey, Starkey and his Aunt Jessie argue continually. Aunt Jessie begins to have daydreams of falling in love with Buster Bloodvessel, who displays increasingly eccentric and disturbing behaviour. The tour involves several strange activities, such as an impromptu race in which each of the passengers employs a different mode of transportation (some run, a few jump into cars, a group of people pedal a long bike, while Starkey ends up beating them all with the bus). In one scene, the tour group walk through what appears to be a British Army recruitment office and are greeted by the army drill sergeant (Victor Spinetti). (Paul McCartney appears briefly as "Major McCartney", on whose desk rests a sign reading "I you WAS".) The sergeant, shouting incomprehensibly, appears to instruct the assembled onlookers on how to attack a stuffed cow. The tour group also crawl into a tiny tent in a field, inside which is a projection theatre. A scene in a restaurant shows a waiter, named Pirandello (played by Lennon), repeatedly shovelling spaghetti onto the table in front of Aunt Jessie, while arriving guests step out from a lift and walk across the dining tables. The film continues with the tour's male passengers watching a strip show (Jan Carson of the Raymond Revuebar). The film ends with the Beatles dressed in white tuxedos, highlighting a glamorous old-style dance crowd scene, accompanied by the song "Your Mother Should Know". The film is interspersed with musical interludes, which include the Beatles performing "I Am the Walrus" wearing animal masks, Harrison singing "Blue Jay Way" while waiting on Blue Jay Way Road, and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band performing Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes' "Death Cab for Cutie" sung by Stanshall. 

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Karin Karino is a bespectacled and shy girl who is riding a bus with three boys from a local boys' only high school. One, Aoi Kiriya, is taking pictures of girls on the bus and the three initially make snide remarks about Karin. When he realizes she is reading a photography book called Blue by a photographer named Yuji, Kiriya approaches her, but she ignores him. As she moves to leave the bus at her stop, Karin drops her book and Kiriya accidentally lifts Karin's skirt while retrieving it for her. The skirt-lifting, combined with the fact that Kiriya still has his camera in his hand, causes Karin to think that Kiriya is "upskirting" her. Karin hits Kiriya and runs away. At school it is revealed that Karin has low self-esteem, and her "friend", Yuka Ishikawa, exploits Karin for free answers to homework and other favors. Kiriya waits outside of her school to return the book and Yuka coerces Karin into arranging a group date. Karin arrives in her uniform, having no "date" clothes, so while the others go ahead Kiriya takes her to a clothing store and buys her a new outfit. During the date, Yuka decides she wants Kiriya, but Kiriya is only interested in Karin. When Karin gets drunk, he takes her to his place to sleep it off. In the morning, he is surprised to discover how beautiful Karin is without her glasses, though he also likes her with them on. When Yuka realizes Karin has Kiriya's attention, she grows jealous and begins bullying Karin. Karin's new, and real, friend Nanri alerts Kiriya to what is going on, after Karin stops speaking to him. He puts an end to it and Karin confirms she is attracted to him too. When Karin passed out Kiriya took her to his apartment, when she wakes up she takes off her glasses and it turns that she isn't bad looking he takes her first kiss. They begin dating, but their relationship has its ups and down. They fight over Kiriya's pushing Karin to sex, Karin's father disapproves of the relationship and bans Karin from leaving the house for a while, and Kiriya struggles to deal with his own family having left them to support himself after the death of his big brother. In the end, they always forgive each other after a fight and make-up. His big brother is in fact Yuji the photographer and he died in an accident underwater. Kiriya was with him that day. Kiriya thinks that his parents blame him for his brother's death. 

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On December 21, without warning, Thomas, the captain of the U.S. Navy destroyer, USS Nathan James (DDG-80), receives authenticated orders to carry out a nuclear strike on the Soviet city of Orel and its nearby silos. The nuclear-tipped Tomahawks are fired off in an emotionless, automated manner. Over a period of hours the crew watches them make landfall on radar and listens as the radio stations from Orel go off the air. With the mission completed, they report back to their superiors, and a reply from the U.S. Navy comes through, ordering them to break with general orders in this situation (operating under which they would proceed to the North Sea), but the message garbles to gibberish towards the end without relating their new orders. With one exception later in the book, this is the last official communication from the U.S. Navy that Nathan James ever receives. While they can later surmise there must have been a series of major exchanges, as a simple, single exchange of 'counter-force' strikes would not account for the sheer scale of the fallout they later find, and they can also conclude other nuclear powers, like India, Pakistan, etc., have also fired at each other, the crew never learns with certainty what led to the launches or the exact sequence of events. Thomas then decides to head southward into the North Sea and then to the United Kingdom, in order to re- establish contact with friendly forces. The ship encounters dense clouds of radioactive smoke all around Great Britain, through which can be seen the ruins of Big Ben and London. Lacking information, the ship sets off to scout the Mediterranean coastline, counterclockwise from southern Italy to Gibraltar. Off the coast of Brittany the ship encounters a non-communicative submarine which tails them until the ship arrives off the destroyed Rock of Gibraltar, where it vanishes. Nathan James continues to scout the Mediterranean coastline, finding only masses of people suffering from radiation sickness who have fled the chaos inland. Off the coast of France, Nathan James finds a luxury sailboat with the passengers apparently killed mid-meal, suggesting the use of a neutron bomb on a coastal city. The corpse of the ship's radioman is found deeper within, along with his limited report of areas hit with nuclear weapons, painting a bleak picture for Europe, the Soviet Union, and North America. Returning to Gibraltar, the Soviet Navy ballistic missile submarine Pushkin surfaces to make direct contact. The two vessels quickly establish a truce and agree to a joint operation. The Pushkin, fully fueled but low on food, will first scout western Africa, then attempt to reach a secret Soviet supply base in the Arctic and retrieve supplies and nuclear fuel for Nathan James. The U.S. Navy destroyer, relatively well- stocked with food but low on nuclear fuel, will scout northern Africa, then make her way to the Pacific Ocean in search of habitable land for the two crews. Thomas keeps the deal he made with the Soviet captain (trading food and a place for the Soviets in any society the Nathan James crew builds on land for nuclear fuel, if found at the Soviet base) from most of his crew, in order to not get their hopes up. Nathan James scouts Mediterranean Africa, but strangely, despite not seeing visible direct hits, finds no people but reads radiation levels which steadily increase the farther inland any shore party ventures. Throughout, the crew salvages relatively uncontaminated farming equipment, plants, and even two goats from a small island to potentially start farming any hospitable land. Eventually Nathan James receives a message from the National Command Authority ordering all recipients to reply. They do so, but the message repeats unaltered with machine-like precision; they conclude it is just an automated transmission. Based on his knowledge of the Soviet Union's targeting of North America, the Soviet submarine captain's report, the French radioman's report, and what he has seen of Europe, Thomas, along with most of the ship's officers, concludes that the United States has simply ceased to exist, and what remains of North America is uninhabitable. Many of the crew, though, wish to go home to the U.S. to see what happened. This would require them to expend most of their remaining fuel, rendering them unable to reach the Pacific to look for habitable land. If the U.S. were anything like Europe or Africa, the ship would simply be trapped. Thomas thus decides to proceed to the Pacific Ocean by way of the Suez Canal. At Suez, the ship's Combat Systems Officer (CSO) states his belief that parts of North America may still be habitable and demands that the ship return to the U.S. East Coast, so they can see for themselves. The captain tries to discourage the CSO, but the latter challenges the captain's authority, reminding him that the U.S. Navy (under which Thomas is legally bestowed the title of captain) no longer exists, meaning Thomas is no longer in lawful command, and demands a vote on the correct course of action. Thomas, angered at this mutiny, allows a vote thinking the CSO has little support, but is shocked when nearly a third of the crew side with the CSO. The mutineers demand rafts and the captain's gig in order to sail thousands of miles to the United States. With a mixture of sadness and outrage, Thomas agrees, and the mutineers depart. In the following weeks the ship proceeds through the Suez Canal, which is luckily open, and travels through treacherous seas in the Indian Ocean as nuclear winter begins to take full effect, with dramatic temperature drops and black snow at the equator. They notice a pattern where the amount of fallout increases with the size of nearby landmasses. Approaching Singapore, the fallout becomes so dense that the crew cannot go onto the weather decks. Luckily, Nathan James was designed with cold weather and fallout in mind, and Thomas orders the ship hermetically sealed and people stationed on the bridge in short rotations. Despite this, the crew suffers from mild radiation sickness, and their passage through the dense fallout becomes so trying psychologically that many crew vanish overboard. Things become even bleaker when they lose contact with the Soviet submarine, assuming she, with the nuclear fuel, was lost while scouting the Soviet coastline. Nathan James eventually reaches the remote South Pacific and, with the ship's nuclear fuel nearly gone, discovers a small, uncontaminated island in French Polynesia. The ship's crew establishes a community on the island, and they begin to try to conceive children to continue civilization. An archival project is started, wherein everyone is encouraged to write out their knowledge for future generations. They work out a system to allow genetic diversity with anonymous fatherhood, with the women always in strict control. However, no pregnancies occur. They worry that the radiation of the nuclear winter may have rendered everyone sterile. Some time later, the Pushkin appears on the horizon. Its crew is on the verge of starvation but bears an abundance of nuclear fuel. Nathan James is at last free to sail again, keeping the island as its home base. They even believe the Soviet submariners, who may have been free of contamination due to being submerged, can take their place in the genetic pool. But then a new disaster strikes: a group of the ship's sailors, abhorring the remaining nuclear missiles aboard the ship, launches them without Thomas' permission. One of the missiles accidentally detonates while in flight, triggering a chain reaction among all of the other missiles, destroying Nathan James and contaminating the island. Thomas, his remaining crew, and the Soviet crew immediately embark aboard the Pushkin to escape, beginning a new search for another sanctuary. They eventually reach the U.S. research facility at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, which is abandoned but contains years' worth of food and supplies. The Pushkin is modified during the escape to McMurdo Station by jettisoning its nuclear missiles into the ocean, so they can use the freed space in the silos for living space and a nursery. The introduction of the Soviet crew into the U.S. breeding program has resulted in at least three pregnancies. The Pushkin has the fuel and food from McMurdo to conduct long, thorough explorations of the world. Now well-provisioned, the survivors prepare to rediscover the world. 

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A young boy named Bastian Balthazar Bux helps yet again the Childlike Empress and her people of Fantasia, an imagination land that can be accessed and influenced through a magic neverending book called The Neverending Story, because the horrifying Nothing and other villains like the evil sorceress Xayide still threaten it. In the process, Bastian learns valuable lessons and gains many magical friends like the wooden Bark Troll, the luckdragon Falkor and many others. 

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The story centres on a witty, sly, illiterate and lazy protagonist, Wei Xiaobao, who was born to a prostitute from a brothel in Yangzhou in the early Qing dynasty (1654-1689). The teenage scamp makes his way from Yangzhou to the capital, Beijing, through a series of adventures. In Beijing, he is kidnapped and taken to the imperial palace, where he impersonates an eunuch. While in the palace, Wei Xiaobao bumbles his way into a fateful encounter with the young Kangxi Emperor, the ruler of the Qing Empire, and develops an unlikely friendship with him. One day, Wei Xiaobao is captured by some martial artists and taken out of the palace. He meets Chen Jinnan, the leader of the Tiandihui ("Heaven and Earth Society"), a secret society aiming to overthrow the Qing dynasty, and becomes Chen's apprentice. He also becomes one of the society's branch leaders and agrees to serve as their spy in the palace. Later, he is taken captive by another group of fighters, who bring him to Mystic Dragon Island, where the sinister Mystic Dragon Cult is based. Unexpectedly, he becomes the cult's White Dragon Marshal by flattering its leader, Hong Antong. Wei Xiaobao makes a number of seemingly impossible achievements through sheer luck, cunning, and the use of unglamorous means such as cheating and deceiving. First, he assists the Kangxi Emperor in ousting the autocratic regent, Oboi, from power. Second, he discovers the whereabouts of the missing Shunzhi Emperor, who has been presumed dead, saves him from danger, and helps him reunite with his son, the Kangxi Emperor. Third, he eliminates the Mystic Dragon Cult by stirring up internal conflict, which leads to the cult's self-destruction. Fourth, he weakens the revolt staged by Wu Sangui by bribing Wu's allies to withdraw, thereby allowing Qing imperial forces to crush the rebels easily. Finally, he leads a campaign against the Russian Empire and helps the Qing Empire reach a border treaty with its northern neighbour. Earlier on, he met the Russian regent, Sophia Alekseyevna, and helped her consolidate control over the Russian Empire during an uprising. In the process of accomplishing these tasks, he also recommended talents to serve the Qing government, one of whom is Shi Lang, the admiral who led the successful naval campaign against the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan. Throughout the story, Wei Xiaobao exhibits devout loyalty to both the Kangxi Emperor and his personal friends in the anti-Qing forces. He instinctively shields the emperor with his body from assassins and saves the emperor's life on two occasions. He also plays an important role in assisting the Kangxi Emperor in consolidating power. On the other hand, he secretly helps the anti-Qing forces escape from danger on numerous occasions and undermines the Qing government’s attempts to destroy the Tiandihui. For his achievements, he is rewarded with immense wealth and titles of nobility. The highest position he reached is "Duke of Deer Cauldron" (or "Duke of Mount Deer", which is used as an alternative English title for the novel). He earns the respect of the anti-Qing forces for eliminating corrupt officials and defending China from foreign invasion. On top of his achievements, he also encounters seven attractive women on separate occasions, flirts and toys with them, and eventually marries all seven of them. Wei Xiaobao's conflicting loyalties ultimately reach a disastrous conclusion. The Kangxi Emperor discovers his relationship with the Tiandihui, and forces him to choose to either remain loyal to the Qing Empire or become an enemy of the state. Wei Xiaobao faces a dilemma: If he chooses to follow the emperor's orders, he will have to betray his friends from the Tiandihui and help the emperor destroy them; if he refuses, he faces the possibility of death and the extermination of his family. He chooses instead to go into exile. However, emperor still regards him as a close friend and loyal subject so he pardons him and allows him to return to the palace later. Towards the end of the novel, the emperor tries to force Wei Xiaobao to help him eliminate the Tiandihui again. On the other hand, Wei Xiaobao faces an even bigger problem with the Tiandihui. As Chen Jinnan had died recently, the Tiandihui's members look up to Wei Xiaobao and want him to be their new leader. Wei Xiaobao ponders the issue, realises that he will never be able to reconcile between the two opposing sides, and feels that his divided friendships and split loyalties are tearing him apart. He decides to leave and lead a reclusive life, and brings along his family and immense wealth with him. He is never seen again. It is said that when the Kangxi Emperor went on six inspection tours to the Jiangnan region throughout his reign, his true purpose was to search for Wei Xiaobao. 

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The story centers on a young woman named Percy (Alison Elliott) who was recently released from prison. She arrives in a small town in Maine with hopes of beginning a new life. She lands a job as a waitress in the Spitfire Grill, owned by Hannah (Ellen Burstyn), whose gruff exterior conceals a kind heart and little tolerance for the grill's regular customers who are suspicious of Percy's mysterious past. None is more suspicious than Nahum, Hannah's nephew, although his wife, Shelby, has a kinder curiosity. When Hannah is bedridden after a nasty fall, Percy and Shelby pitch in to save the Grill and win the approval of Hannah, who learns she does need friends. Joe, an attractive young man in town, becomes smitten with Percy. He is approached by a scientist who thinks that the town's trees might have medicinal benefits. As the plot unfolds, Hannah holds a $100-per- entry essay contest to find a new owner for the grill. This creates a positive change in the town, but the plans are disrupted by Nahum's suspicions about Percy and the revelation that a local hermit is Hannah's shell-shocked, Vietnam veteran son. Percy sacrifices her own life to save Hannah's son and prompts a number of the town's citizens to examine their own conduct more deeply. Overall, the film deals with powerful themes of redemption, hatred, compassion, independence, the economic problems of small towns, the plight of Vietnam War veterans, and, to some extent female empowerment. The film somewhat misleads the audience into thinking that it will be Percy who finds redemption, but it is other characters and relationships, and indeed the town itself, that are powerfully redeemed through Percy's actions. 

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A young woman (Jamie Rose) walking home from her birthday party is stalked by a man in distinctive sneakers. After she drops one of her presents, a police officer offers to escort her to her front door. The camera reveals that the policeman is wearing the same sneakers as the stalker. The next day, divorced New Orleans police detective Wes Block (Eastwood) is playing football with his daughters Penny and Amanda. They take in a stray dog, adding to the several strays they have already taken in. As the family gets ready to go to a Saints game, Block is summoned to a crime scene, forcing him to break his plans with his daughters. The young woman has been strangled in her bed. Her killer left no fingerprints, but he waited in her apartment until midnight to kill her, even pausing to make himself coffee. Block visits a brothel where the woman worked, and interviews a prostitute with whom she would perform group sex. The prostitute seduces Block, loosening his necktie, which he accidentally leaves behind. The murderer rapes his victims, and he has been leaving behind a great deal of forensic evidence, including a residue of glass fragments and barley. Beryl Thibodeaux (Geneviève Bujold) runs a rape prevention program, and she advises Block on the case. The second victim is also a sex worker, and she is strangled in a jacuzzi. Block tracks down one of her co-workers and interviews her while the two prepare to have sex. He handcuffs the woman to the bed. While Block inquires about the victims at another brothel, he has sex with a prostitute. The hidden killer watches Block and the prostitute. The next morning, Block is called to the scene of a third victim. He is shocked to realize that it is the prostitute he had been with the night before. Under the guise of working on the case, Block flirts with Thibodeaux, and the two spend the rest of the day together. The killer taunts Block by sending a doll with a note, which directs him to another brothel. Once there, a dominatrix informs Block that an unknown man has hired her to be whipped by Block. She is then supposed to send Block to a gay bar. At the bar, Block meets up with a man who has been hired by the killer to have sex with Block. Block instructs the man to pick up his pay as scheduled and follows him, hoping to catch the killer. However, Block is too late, and the man is killed. The killer kidnaps the second's victim co-worker, and he dumps her body in a public fountain. He drapes Block's abandoned necktie on a nearby statue. Block and Thibodeaux go out on a second date, escorting his children, while secretly observed by the killer disguised as a Mardi Gras participant. When they are in bed later, Block shies away from intimacy with Thibodeaux, and then has a nightmare that he attacks her in the guise of the killer. One of the victim's clothes has some cash in it, which the police trace to the payroll of a brewery. The money has the same glass and barley residue on it that has been cropping up at all the crime scenes. When Block goes to the brewery to investigate, the killer watches him during his visit. That night, the killer breaks into Block's home, killing the nanny and some of Block's pets, and handcuffing and gagging Amanda. Block is nearly strangled in a struggle after he arrives and is only saved when one of his surviving dogs repeatedly bites the killer. Block fires two shots at the killer as he escapes. The killer is later seen watching from concealment as the police investigate the scene. While going through news clippings, Block comes across the name of a cop, Leander Rolfe (Marco St. John), whom he arrested for raping two girls. Further investigation reveals that Rolfe had been paroled and was working at the brewery. Block and his team stake out Rolfe's apartment, but Rolfe has gone to attack Thibodeaux at her home (successfully slaying the cops guarding her). Realizing that she is in danger, Block races to her home, where he disturbs Rolfe's attempt to strangle her (despite being stabbed twice with scissors). Block chases Rolfe through a cemetery and into a rail yard. During their final scuffle, they end up in the path of an oncoming train; Block manages to roll out of the way in time, but Rolfe is run over and killed. Block accepts a woman's touch after he tells Beryl everything will be okay. 

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Master thief Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) breaks into the mansion of billionaire Walter Sullivan (E. G. Marshall), but is forced to hide upon the arrival of Sullivan's wife Christy (Melora Hardin), on a drunken rendezvous with Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman), the President of the United States. Hidden behind the bedroom vault's one-way mirror, Whitney watches in horror as Richmond becomes sexually violent; Christy, in self-defense, stabs him with a letter opener. Richmond screams for help, and Secret Service agents Bill Burton (Scott Glenn) and Tim Collin (Dennis Haysbert) burst in and fatally shoot Christy. Chief of Staff Gloria Russell (Judy Davis) arrives, and they stage the scene to look like a burglary gone wrong. Whitney is unnoticed until he makes his getaway, pursued by the agents, but he manages to escape with millions in valuables as well as the incriminating letter opener. Detective Seth Frank (Ed Harris) heads the murder investigation. Though Whitney, known to authorities as a high-profile burglar, becomes a prime suspect, Frank does not believe he is a murderer. Burton asks Frank to keep him informed on the case and wiretaps Frank's office telephone. Just as Whitney is about to flee the country, he sees Richmond on television publicly commiserating with Sullivan – a close friend and financial supporter of the president – on his loss. Incensed, Whitney decides to bring Richmond to justice. He taunts Russell, leaving her a photograph of the letter opener. Whitney's estranged daughter Kate (Laura Linney), a prosecutor, accompanies Frank to Whitney's home in search of clues. She agrees to set her father up, arranging a meeting at an outdoor café where the police can take him into custody. Frank guarantees Whitney's safety, but Burton learns of the plan through the wiretap, and both Collin and McCarty (Richard Jenkins) – a hitman hired by a vengeful Sullivan – prepare to kill Whitney. The two snipers, each unaware of the other, try to shoot Whitney when he meets with Kate. Both miss, and Whitney escapes disguised as a police officer. Whitney later explains to Kate exactly how Christy was killed and by whom. Whitney tricks Russell into wearing Christy's diamond necklace during a White House event. Suspecting that Kate must know the truth, Richmond decides she must be eliminated. When Whitney learns from Frank that the Secret Service has taken over surveillance of Kate, he races back to Washington, D.C. to protect her. Whitney arrives moments after Collin forces Kate's car off a cliff, but she survives. Collin tries again to kill Kate at the hospital with a poison-filled syringe, but Whitney subdues him with a syringe of his own. Collin pleads for mercy, but Whitney delivers a fatal dose. Whitney replaces Sullivan's chauffeur, and tells Sullivan what truly happened the night his wife was killed. Sullivan is unconvinced until Whitney explains how Richmond lied in his speech about Christy's excuse for staying home that night, which he could only have learned from her. He gives Sullivan the letter opener with Richmond's blood and fingerprints, and tells him that he has since returned the stolen items. Whitney drops Sullivan off outside the White House. Sullivan passes through security with the letter opener and enters the Oval Office. Meanwhile, alerted by Whitney that his phone has been bugged, Frank discovers that a remorseful Burton has committed suicide and uses the evidence Burton left behind to arrest Russell. On television the next morning comes the shocking news from Sullivan that Richmond committed suicide by stabbing himself to death. However not confirmed, it is suggested that Richmond died by Sullivan's hand. Whitney is satisfied that justice has prevailed, and happy his daughter is safe and part of his life again. At the hospital, Whitney watches over Kate's recovery. Detective Frank visits briefly, whereupon Whitney suggests to Kate that Frank join them for supper sometime. 

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Cockney cat burglar Harry Tristan Dean (Michael Caine) and his sculptor friend Emile Fournier (John Abbott) discover exotic Eurasian showgirl Nicole Chang (Shirley MacLaine) in a crowded Hong Kong restaurant. She bears an incredible resemblance both to the late wife of the world's richest man, an Arab named Ahmad Shahbandar (Herbert Lom), as well as to a priceless ancient Chinese statuette that he owns; Harry and Emile want to use her in a scheme to rob Shahbandar of it. Harry's mere explanation to Emile of the caper—in which Nicole meekly obeys instructions without even a single expression—is flawless. Harry, Nicole (who initially resisted the offer), and Emile arrive in the Middle Eastern city of Dammuz; the former two assume the identities of Sir Harold Dean and Lady Nicole Dean and check into Shahbandar's hotel where Shahbandar himself lives in the penthouse. Harry's plot does not at all follow his imagined scenario; Shahbandar himself discovers Harry's deceitfulness, and only plays along with Harry and Nicole to see what they are plotting. She is aghast when she learns what Harry wants to steal, but goes along because she is falling in love with him. Shahbandar invites them to dinner; Harry refuses but persuades Nicole to accept, so she will occupy Shahbandar while he will steal the statuette. Nicole, however, realizes that Shahbandar suspects them, and slips away to warn Harry. Working together, they steal the statuette without triggering the alarm; but a misplaced impulse afterwards causes Nicole to accidentally trigger the alarm anyway. At Harry's insistence, Nicole flees to the airport to return separately to Hong Kong, while he hides from the guards; he watches as they also check a secret compartment in the wall of the room, where the real statuette is hidden: the one in Harry's hands is a copy. Shahbandar then rechecks the secret compartment, finds the fake, and has Nicole arrested at the airport. At breakfast, he tells her that his agents have found Harry in Hong Kong; he too will be arrested unless the real statuette is returned. She is free to go with a dossier of Harry if she takes that message to him. At Emile's workshop in Hong Kong, Harry reveals that he actually hid the statuette inside a Buddha statue Emile had sold Shahbandar, and left the hotel a telegraph of this while she was traveling. In the least, Harry only wanted to give the appearance that it had been stolen, as no one yet knows when Shahbandar will reverse that credibility. Emile, in fact, made an exact replica of the statuette as well as the decoy that Shahbandar had on display; and with three prospective buyers already waiting, Harry and Emile must now sell the replica as the real thing. Nicole proves unhappy at Harry's criminal lifestyle, so Harry smashes the replica to prove she is more important to him than his life of crime. She and Harry leave Emile supposedly disconsolate—until he receives a telephone call afterwards, happily starts making arrangements with a buyer, and takes one of more replicas of the statuette. 

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The British Empire is falling apart. Many commoners are unhappy with the current government, though none of the commoners claim responsibility for the status quo. The magician's demons are being assaulted by the children's natural abilities to see and resist the demons. Some commoners advocate slow reform, while others advocate open revolt, while still others say the commoners should learn how to summon spirits of their own to combat those spirits belonging to the magicians. Ptolemy's Gate concludes with a council of surviving magicians and important commoners trying to work out a government that is beneficial to everyone. Kitty Jones eventually unearths the reason why humans and spirits are locked into the endless cycle, that humans do not understand the nature of djinni and summon them only as powerful, but dangerous, slaves, not equals. This theory is confirmed by Bartimaeus who states that his greatest master, Ptolemy, was the only human who treated his servants as equals and tried to build a bridge between djinni and humans. However, Ptolemy misguidedly believed many others would follow in his footsteps. England's domestic turmoil has taken its toll on John Mandrake. Mandrake is friendless and constantly watched by his numerous enemies. In the three years since The Golem's Eye there have been several attempts on Mandrake's life. His years as a high ranking government official have made Mandrake merciless, and he treats all of his servants cruelly, especially Bartimaeus. However, events in Ptolemy's Gate shatter Mandrake's confidence in what he has become. The transformation from Mandrake to Nathaniel is much more rapid than the one from Nathaniel to Mandrake. Nathaniel drops the name John Mandrake all together, as well as the fear of others knowing his true name, humbly telling it to Kitty, with whom he seems to have struck up a newfound friendship, and boldly proclaiming it to the spirit Nouda. With the end of Mandrake, Nathaniel becomes all that Ptolemy hoped to be. Nathaniel willingly allows Bartimaeus to share his body to combat Nouda and his army of hybrids, using Gladstone's staff, a fusion that forever bridges the gap between humans and djinn. However, at the last moment, he dismisses Bartimaeus and then sacrifices himself to destroy the spirit Nouda. This incident was similar to what Ptolemy did in the moments before he died. 

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In a bid to raise the town's profile and attract investment, the mayor of the struggling Yorkshire town of Townley has commissioned a performance of a series of Medieval mystery plays that will re-enact scenes from the Bible - however, frustrated local reporter Annie Woolf believes it's a ploy to improve his tattered reputation ahead of local elections. On the opening night of the Old Testament cycle, during a play about the fall of Adam and Eve, Doctor Bell - the man who was to play God - is found dead backstage. Detective Sergeant Frank Carpenter arrives from Manchester CID to investigate. While leaving the autopsy room he has a mysterious encounter with a man who is slicing up raincoats, who says he must "protect the children". Woolf finds Carpenter in his hotel's bar, where he is filling in a crossword puzzle. She tries to press him for information, but he evades her questions. When he leaves, she sees that he has filled in the crossword with gibberish. Carpenter retires to his room, but is awoken late at night by the local police, who say the doctor's body has gone missing from the morgue. The only possible clue is a hacked-up raincoat like the one he had seen the mysterious man with earlier. The following day Carpenter meets Mayor Purves and the local vicar, Reverend Tilley, but is unable to dissuade them from seeking out a replacement actor to play God. He then interviews their chief suspect, a man named Severs who portrayed Satan in the mystery play. But the interview goes badly wrong when Severs seemingly transforms into the Devil and begins to taunt Carpenter about something from his past. Carpenter has a vision of a barrister whitewashing bloodied children's wallpaper before staggering out of the building and vomiting. A police officer informs him that they've found Doctor Bell's body in a local pig pen, where it is being devoured. At the offices of The Townley Guardian, Woolf's editor suggests that the murder may be linked to an escaped mental patient from a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, Carpenter corners Mayor Purves on his way to a supposed council meeting, and grills him over the death of Doctor Bell, who had accused Purves of having sex with an underage prostitute. Purves denies the claim but Carpenter follows him to a brothel, where he glimpses the mayor having sex with a mannequin. Elsewhere, a rambler finds the body of a naked man in a crashed car in some woods. The next day, Carpenter interviews Reverend Tilley, who admits that he hasn't believed in God since his wife died, but that he pretends to have faith to comfort his parishioners. Soon after, Woolf confronts Carpenter with the truth: he is actually the escaped mental patient, not a police officer. "Carpenter" admits this is true and says he can't exactly remember what it was that he did that got him locked up. However, after escaping he found the body of Detective Sergeant Carpenter in his crashed car, and saw a chance for redemption. If he could solve the mystery of the killing, he decided, he could solve the mystery of himself - what he did, and who he was before some unknown terrible thing in his past happened. He makes Woolf promise not to look into his past until the case is closed, but on advice from her editor, she decides to investigate anyway, and discovers that "Carpenter" was actually the "Raincoat Man" who was charged with brutally raping and murdering a little girl, Sarah Downing, in Townley some time ago. The following evening, the town is preparing for the inauguration of the New Testament cycle, which will end with a recreation of the crucifixion of Jesus. The Raincoat Man tells Woolf that he's almost figured out who the killer is - he just needs to "rise up" above it to understand the case fully. Woolf calls the police and tells them what has happened. As the crowds gather in front of the crucifix, squads of police converge on Townley and Woolf breaks down, confronting first the Raincoat Man and then the crowd with the truth of his crime. The crowd becomes a furious mob that crucifies him on a hill overlooking the town. However, they have only put the nails through his overcoat, and as police helicopters approach with beams on, he is able to slip down and escape in the confusion, leaving his coat flapping in the wind. Ten years later, Townley is transformed; a Japanese company has come to the town and opened a factory, bringing prosperity to the area. Woolf, who has written articles and a book on the murder, is getting dinner with a writer named Alan, who is turning the whole thing into a play for television. As Woolf leaves, however, the waiter brings her the grey overcoat "Carpenter" was wearing during his investigation. She protests that it isn't her coat, but the waiter says it is - and even has her name inside. She allows him to put it on her as she says, "Yes. I suppose it is." 

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The Federation starship Enterprise arrives at planet Bre'el IV to prevent the looming disaster of the planet's asteroidal moon falling from its orbit and crashing into the highly populated planet; as the ship arrives, the planet is already experiencing damaging effects of the moon's gravitational field. As the crew is working, Q (John de Lancie) appears on the bridge naked. Q explains that he is being punished by the Continuum for spreading chaos throughout the universe and he has been stripped of all his powers, banished from the Q Continuum, and transported to the Enterprise as a human, asking asylum. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) reluctantly helps Q, but instead of assigning him guest quarters, Picard treats Q like a criminal and throws him in the brig. As the moon continues to descend to the planet, Picard urges Q to use his powers and move the moon back into its original orbit. Q still insists that he is powerless except for his IQ of 2005. The captain assigns Lt. Commander Data to watch Q and he is ordered to assist the Engineering team. Q suggests that they "change the gravitational constant of the universe." Q begins experiencing more human conditions, such as back spasms and hunger. Data takes Q to the Ten-Forward Lounge. When Q inquires about what food is best to address his constant suffering, Data suggests a chocolate sundae as he has observed Counselor Deanna Troi turning to chocolate when depressed. After ordering ten sundaes, his hunger is quickly displaced upon encountering Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), who takes advantage of Q's mortal form to stab him with a fork. Shortly thereafter, Q is set upon by a cloud of gaseous entities called the Calamarain, who, having previously been tormented by Q, are attempting to get revenge. After raising the shields to prevent the Calamarain from attacking Q, Picard determines that Q took refuge on the Enterprise to protect himself from alien species that hold grudges against him. Q's idea of changing the gravitational constant of the universe, impossible with human technology, sparks an idea in Chief Engineer La Forge (LeVar Burton) to modify the gravitational constant in a small volume of space, which he tests; however, the test lowers the Enterprises shields, allowing the Calamarain to attack Q again. Data attempts to save Q from their assault but is electrified in doing so, nearly frying his positronic brain. Realizing that his presence on the Enterprise is doing more harm than he expected, Q leaves the ship in a shuttlecraft. As the Calamarain close onto the shuttle, a second Q being (Corbin Bernsen) appears on the shuttle and informs Q that due to his selfless act to protect the Enterprise, the Continuum is willing to give him a second chance and restore his powers. Q accepts and shrinks the Calamarain entities and teleports them into the palm of his hand, gloating over the restoration of his powers. The other Q reminds him that he should reflect upon the lessons he's learned, and he grudgingly turns the tiny aliens loose. Q, dressed as a mariachi, returns to the Enterprise and celebrates. Nudged by Picard to leave, he departs, bestowing a parting gift on Data for showing Q how to be more human. After Q disappears, Data begins to laugh uncontrollably for a moment, to the surprise of the rest of the Enterprise crew. Upon learning that the Bre'el moon has returned to a safe orbit, Picard surmises that Q is responsible, and says that perhaps Q has a residue of humanity after all, but a cigar appears in Picard's hand with Q's voice telling him, "Don't bet on it." 

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The Enterprise travels to the planet Acamar III after detecting traces of Acamarian blood at a looted Federation outpost. Sovereign Marouk, the Acamarian leader, suggests that the looting was done by the Gatherers, descendants of Acamarian society a century ago that have turned to piracy to sustain themselves. Marouk initially suggests hunting them down with the help of Starfleet, but Captain Picard convinces Marouk to join him to seek a peaceful resolution, including ending the Gatherers' self- imposed exile. Marouk and her assistant, Yuta, arrive on the ship to help. Commander Riker finds Yuta attractive and tries to get to know her better, but Yuta finds herself unable to open up to him. The Enterprise crew makes contact with one band of Gatherers led by Brull, and offer negotiations. Brull negotiates with Marouk and Picard, and after hearing the offer, agrees to pass it on to the Gatherer leader, Chorgan. Meanwhile, Yuta meets alone with one of the older Gatherers and touches his cheek, causing the Gatherer to suffer a heart attack. As the man dies, Yuta asserts that she, as the last of her clan, Tralesta, will outlive the Lornak clan. The Gatherer's body is later found but initially assumed that death was by natural causes. However, later investigation by Dr. Crusher reveals that a fast-acting "micro-virus", targeted to attack a specific Acamarian DNA profile, was the cause. Dr. Crusher believes the virus was purposely genetically engineered, and that the death was a targeted murder. At Picard's request, Marouk has her government send data to the Enterprise to investigate the murder. The Enterprise meets with Chorgan's starship, and Picard, Marouk, and Yuta transport aboard to begin negotiations. At the same time, the Enterprise crew receives the database from Acamar, and find that fifty-three years earlier, another Gatherer suffered a similar heart attack - he too was from the Lornak clan, and a photographic record shows Yuta was present, and clearly hasn't aged a day. Finding the common clan, Riker discovers that Chorgan is of the Lornak clan, and realizing that Yuta is there to assassinate him, transports over to Chorgan's ship. He interrupts negotiations to prevent Yuta from serving Chorgan a drink, accusing her of the murder. Yuta explains she is the last of five survivors of the Tralesta clan that was wiped out by a Lornak attack, and has undergone genetic alterations to host the virus and to keep herself from aging, allowing her to seek out and murder the Lornak clan to the last person. Riker attempts to talk her out of her revenge at phaser-point, gradually increasing the yield with each successive shot, but she cannot break from her desire for vengeance that she built up over the last several decades. After pleading with her not to try again, she moves once more on Chorgan, and Riker vaporizes her with his phaser. The negotiations are successful and a truce is called between the two sides; at the conclusion, the Enterprise is assigned a routine survey mission through the now-peaceful sector. Searching for his First Officer, Picard finds a depressed Riker in Ten-Forward, and informs him that they'll be taking on medical supplies at the next star base, and he intends to extend shore leave to anyone who wants it. Riker says he'll pass it along to the crew. 

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While investigating a planet once occupied by Koinonians, Security Chief Worf and members of the Enterprise away team trigger an ancient mine. They are transported to Sickbay, but Lieutenant Marla Aster is dead. As Captain Picard delivers the news of Marla's death to her son Jeremy, Wesley Crusher talks with Commander Riker about how Picard had delivered the news of his father's death to his mother and himself. Worf expresses his desire to make R'uustai, a Klingon bonding ritual with Jeremy, as they are both orphans and he believes he can help the boy recover emotionally, but Jeremy blames Worf for his mother's death. The crew investigates the planet, discovering mines that were recently unearthed and exposed. They observe a beam of charged particles emanating from the surface headed towards the Enterprise, while Counselor Troi senses a new presence from the planet. In Jeremy's quarters, a physical manifestation of Marla appears, explaining that the crew mistakenly considered her dead and that she wants Jeremy to live on the planet. Troi and security follow the two preventing "Marla" from using the transporter to return to the planet. They return to Jeremy's quarters, which has the appearance of the Asters' home on Earth. Chief Engineer La Forge tunes the shields to stop the particle beam, causing "Marla" to disappear and the room returns to normal. A filament rises from the planet, striking the Enterprise and disrupting the shields; "Marla" appears and takes Jeremy, intent on going to the transporter room. Picard contains "Marla" with force fields and talks to her. "Marla" explains that she is one of two races that once lived on the planet; her species, made from energy, watched the other physical species wipe themselves out from wars and her people want to prevent more suffering caused by the remnants of the war, thus providing Jeremy with the illusion of his mother still being alive. Picard and Troi point out that dealing with death is part of the human condition. Wesley explains to Jeremy how he dealt with his father's death. Jeremy expresses his hatred of Worf, but Troi points out they are both orphans, while Worf notes that he was aided by humans after he lost his parents. Jeremy decides to go with Worf. Realizing that Jeremy will be all right, the illusion of Marla disappears and the alien presence is no more. Some time later, Worf and Jeremy undertake the R'uustai ritual. 

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Set and filmed on location in the tenement section of New York's Lower East Side, the film tells the story of a young boy, Tommy Woodry (Bobby Driscoll), who has a habit of crying wolf. Late one night, he climbs up the building fire escape and sees his two seemingly normal neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Kellerson (Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman), murder a drunken sailor in their apartment. No one – neither the boy's parents nor the police – believes young Tommy when he tells them what he has seen, since they all assume that this is just another of the boy's tall tales. When Mrs. Woodry (Barbara Hale) takes Tommy to apologize to the Kellersons, he refuses and they become suspicious of him. When Mrs. Woodry leaves to care for a sick relative and Mr. Woodry is away at his night job, the murderous neighbors plan to kill Tommy, who has been locked in his room by his father to prevent further escapades. Under the pretense of going to the police, the Kellersons take Tommy to a dark alley, where they try to kill him. Tommy escapes, but the pair quickly recaptures him, taking him back to their apartment in a taxi. Tommy screams at a policeman for help, but the officer remembers Tommy as the boy who came to the station earlier and failed to convince the police. The Kellersons fool the cab driver by posing as Tommy's parents. Mr. Woodry returns from work to find Tommy missing. Mr. Woodry then asks a police officer for help. Meanwhile, the Kellersons have Tommy secured in their apartment. Tommy escapes, climbs onto the roof and is pursued by Mr. Kellerson to a nearby building that is in the process of being demolished. The police officer suggests that Tommy went to see his mother, and he and Mr. Woodry leave the tenement. Tommy sees his father leave in his car and shouts for him, the sound of which alerts Mr. Kellerson to Tommy's location. The chase resumes with Tommy finding the body of the dead sailor. The upper building starts to collapse. As Mr. Kellerson is about to grab Tommy, Tommy pushes a rafter aside and Kellerson falls before the rafter collapses and kills him. This time, Tommy screams loud enough for neighbors to hear and they call the police. The boy is rescued and his parents are proud of him. 

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Lalmohan Ganguly, alias Jatayu − a sidekick of Feluda − gets invited to Mumbai (previously Bombay) to watch the shooting of a film based on a novel written by him, Bombaiyer Bombete. His old friend of Garpar road, Pulak Ghoshal (Paran Bandyopadhyay), is the director. Feluda and Topshe accompany him. One day prior to the journey, a mysterious film producer named Sanyal visits Jatayu and conveys that he intends to make a film on the same novel on which Pulok Ghoshal is making a film. Jatayu tells him that the novel is sold, and thus Sanyal leaves. However, Sanyal requests him to handle a packet to one of his allies at the Mumbai airport, to which Jatayu agrees. Once in Mumbai, a man comes to pick up the parcel (Rajatava Dutta), and by mistake, Jatayu gives him another parcel, which contained a copy of his novel. The man goes to a multistory building and gets attacked in the elevator by another man. He kills the assassin, and drops a piece of paper near the body. Feluda and team check in a hotel, where they are told by Pulak about the murder, and the trio meet inspector Patwardhan (Anjan Srivastav). Inspector Patwardhan tells them that a necklace of Nana Sahib has been stolen from Nepal and that it may be smuggled in India by unknown smugglers. Next day at the beach, Feluda finds out through a newspaper clipping that the piece of paper contained Jatayu's description. The trio next meet the producer of the film Mr. Gorey (Ashish Vidyarthi). Pulak Ghoshal the director further introduces them to Victor Perumal (Rajesh Sharma), a martial artist from Japan, who is the stunt coordinator for the film. Things turn mysterious when the trio get attacked multiple times by unknown men, forcing Feluda to open the brown packet of Sanyal after realizing Jatayu's parcel swap. He finds The Life Divine of Aurobindo Ghosh book inside, which makes him more puzzled. Further, it is revealed that in the novel, Jatayu mentioned a fictional building called the Shivaji Castle, which is the residence of the villain of his novel, but finds out that the building is there for real, and is the residence of Mr Gorey. At the day of shoot, the trio board a train where an action sequence is being shot, and Sanyal shows up. Along with the mysterious man brandishing a gun, Sanyal asks Feluda to hand him the book, which he gladly does, but finds something missing there. It is now revealed that Nana Sahib's necklace was inside the book, and Sanyal is the kingpin of a smuggling mafia operating in Mumbai. Quite unexpectedly, Victor Perumal jumps down in the compartment causing the mysterious man to lose balance and let go of his revolver. Sanyal is overpowered, and Feluda shoots Nimmo in the leg who tries to escape. It is now revealed that Sanyal is actually Gorey in makeup, and he is a real time smuggler who tried to smuggle the necklace with Jatayu's help. His men attacked them in order to get the parcel, and that Victor was instructed by Feluda to jump in their compartment if he sensed danger. Everything ends well with Gorey being arrested and Pulok cheering Jatayu that the shooting will be resumed soon with a new producer on board. 

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Homer sees an ad for a children's essay contest in the Reading Digest magazine. Lisa submits an essay on the contest's topic -- "what makes America great" -- after visiting Springfield Forest and seeing a bald eagle land nearby. The Simpsons travel to Washington, D.C. after Lisa's essay earns her a spot in the national finals there. While Bart and Homer enjoy the all-expenses-paid perks of their trip, Lisa visits famous monuments for inspiration. At a shrine to a feminist icon, she sees a corrupt congressman, Bob Arnold, taking a bribe from a timber industry lobbyist to allow loggers to clearcut Springfield Forest. Heartbroken and disillusioned by government corruption, Lisa destroys her winning essay. She pens a scathing indictment, "Cesspool on the Potomac", which condemns government greed and corruption and names the politician involved in the bribery. Lisa's essay elicits a hostile reaction from the judges and audience members. When word of her speech quickly spreads through the capital, Congressman Arnold is arrested, removed from office and sent to prison, where he becomes a born-again Christian. Lisa's essay fails to win the contest, but her faith in government is restored and the contest winner commends her courage and honesty. 

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Jim Carver reports for duty at Sun Hill police station. Jim Carver's first foot patrol, alongside June Ackland. The episode documents PC Jim Carver's first day at Sun Hill Police Station, during which he is partnered with experienced WPC June Ackland. It isn't specified how long Ackland has been at Sun Hill but, even at that point, it appears to have been substantial, because she is highly respected. The day is an eventful one: the pair's first assignment together leads them to discovering the decomposing body of a woman in her bath. Later, whilst on patrol, Jim encounters a rude youngster (Gary Hailes) and, influenced by comments made by older officers at the station, decides to clip him round the ear. That action results in Carver receiving a reprimand from Sergeant Wilding. However, the boy's father approves of his son's treatment, so no further action is taken. June Ackland and Dave Litten have been in an on-again off-again relationship and, whenever they cross paths, both tend to go silent, making other members of their relief uncomfortable. Sergeant Wilding advises Ackland to drop Litten, saying that she can do better. PC Reg Hollis is mentioned in the episode. Although not appearing on screen, an attempt is made to contact him by radio. When he fails to answer the call, the officers in the station make the assumption that he has wandered out of radio range.Introduction 

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The story posits the reality of clairvoyance and telekinetic ability among a small number of people. In an opening scene, telekinetics are shown to be capable of causing a sub-critical mass of plutonium to explode as if it were a critical mass, simply by thinking about it (that is, by telekinetically enhancing its internal neutron emission). Conversely, they are able to prevent a critical mass from exploding. When the United States is held hostage with nuclear weapons planted around the nation by the Soviet Union, all known clairvoyants and telekinetic operators are gathered together and tasked with finding the bombs and preventing them from exploding. Each operator is given one city; but as time elapses and not all the bombs have been located, some of the operators lose their abilities through fatigue, and others are required to take on more than one city simultaneously. Eventually the bombs are found and disabled, with one exception (in Cleveland, when a project officer mistakenly distracts the protecting operator). In the final scene, the President requests that the psychics turn the tables on those who threatened them, by locating and exploding bombs in Russia. 

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In the story, two scientists and a navy ship investigate two massive pillars of water in the Pacific to discover if they are a natural phenomenon or, as one of the scientists conjectures, created by intelligent beings. His belief is based on another strange recent occurrence in the Pacific: "Lagrange fireballs", spheres of energy which move in a seemingly intelligent manner and appear to be responsible for the disappearance of people in Hawaii. While on the naval ship, more is learned about the pillars: one shoots water far up into the sky, where it enters a cloud-like formation which cannot be successfully entered and studied by aircraft or rockets, because their engines shut off when they try to enter the cloud. After an experiment, they confirm the other water pillar is linked to the first and returns the water back to the ocean. While one of the scientists is on deck preparing to ride up the water column in a bathysphere, an energy sphere appears; it engulfs him, and he disappears. The other scientist, still believing that there is an intelligence behind these phenomena, decides to take the other's place and ride in the bathysphere up the water column in hopes of finding his colleague and/or further insight. The two men find themselves in an utterly featureless (and inescapable) environment where they are provided solely with bland food and water. Eventually they are placed together, and they conclude that they are in the hands of other intelligences, possibly alien or possibly a much higher form of Earth life. From the complete lack of communicative contact, they decide that they are not even being studied but are merely being kept as pets, similar to the pet goldfish kept by one of the men. They may even have been put together in the hope that they will breed, suggesting that their captors know nothing of human biology. When one of the scientists dies and his body is removed, the survivor believes that the only way back home is to die. Believing that it is imperative to warn humanity, he methodically scratches a message on the only medium available to him: his skin. The message is "Beware. Creation took eight days", the implication being that man was created only on the 6th day and a higher earthly being was created on the 8th. His body is ultimately recovered from the ocean, but the message is not understood. 

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Two bar patrons and a bartender debate building a generation ship to Proxima Centauri. One favors space exploration as benefiting society like Christopher Columbus's discovery of the New World; the other insists that "Columbus was a dope" and should have stayed home. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the bar is on the Moon. 

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Potiphar Breen is a middle-aged bachelor with a settled, orderly life, and a rather unusual hobby. We meet him first at breakfast in a Los Angeles diner, where he orders his usual meal, takes notes of various apparently unrelated items in several newspapers, and carefully counts out his payment, adding an exactly calculated tip. He then walks out to a bus stop, where a young lady is removing all her clothes. A pair of passing transvestites try to provoke a beat cop into arresting her, but the cop refrains for fear that the publicity will simply inspire more kooks to disrobe. Breen is unmoved. He waits for her to finish undressing, then wraps his coat around her just as the bus arrives. She promptly faints. He drives her to his house, lets her dress, and after explaining that he is not trying to take advantage of her, interviews her. She explains that she has no idea why she had the sudden urge to take her clothes off. He tells her why he was not surprised at what she did. Apparently women have been doing the same thing, all over the city, for some time. The news has been carefully hushed up, just as Breen himself called a friend at the newspaper and fed him a phony account of this incident. Breen is a statistician. Working mostly for insurance companies, he advises them on probability and trends. In his spare time, he studies cycles. Human behavior seems to run in cycles, with prices, wages, hemlines, fashions, and entire economies crashing and rising again for no reason, except that each was following the ups and downs of a cycle. Three big cycles bottomed out in 1929, causing the Crash of 1929. It is now 1952, and every cycle he tracks will either trough or crest simultaneously in about six months. Breen explains to Meade Barstow, the young lady, that "This year, the human race is letting down its hair, flipping its lip with a finger, and saying 'Wubba, wubba, wubba.'" Meade's striptease, along with the commonplace public transvestism, the new churches with their ceremonial nudity and all the other pieces of minor insanity are simply symptoms of the inexorable trends. As Breen puts it, while any one person may seem to be rational, in the bulk people behave statistically, whether they like it or not. "Meade," he says, "I think we're lemmings." Meade and "Potty" grow close,The couple marry themselves once they escape. This is a typical Heinlein theme, where marriage is something that takes place in the minds and hearts of the couple, and a ceremony is no more than a public recognition of that fact. Similar situations occur in Time Enough for Love, The Number of the Beast (novel), The Puppet Masters, Farnham's Freehold, Glory Road and Stranger in a Strange Land. and as the weeks pass and the craziness increases, both abandon their jobs and prepare for when it will be "time to jump." Breen has transport, supplies and a firearm or two. He plans to head for the Mojave Desert. Then the record drought breaks, and the skies open. They decide to leave. On the way, there is an earthquake. A hitch-hiker attempts to steal the car at gunpoint. Meade surprises Breen (and herself) by shooting the thief with Breen's pistol. Far from the city, they are horrified when a nuclear explosion apparently destroys Los Angeles. Living at an isolated cabin, they wait for things to stabilize. There has been a full-scale nuclear exchange, but the weather was so bad that few bombs reached their targets. Breen himself has had to shoot a group of marauding Russian soldiers. But now the world is at peace, and Breen can catch up on his reading, in journals of astrophysics. He comes across an article where the author calculates the exact conditions required to make the Sun explode in a nova ,Like many stories of the time, this one makes no distinction between a nova, a flaring white dwarf star, and a supernova, an exploding star. At the time of writing, the different phenomena had not been fully explained by physicists. Comparable stories include The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov, and The Star by Arthur C. Clarke. and even offers predictions about when in the life of the Sun this might occur. Meade comes out of the cabin to join Potiphar and watch the sunset. There is a rather large sunspot on the Sun's face. Suddenly Breen realizes that this has not just been a bad year. Looking again at the article, he knows it is the final year. "Something funny is happening to the sunset," says Meade. "No," replies Potiphar, "to the Sun." 

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The game takes place in the fictional Might and Magic universe, upon the world of Ardon. The prologue depicts the burning of a small village in the Fairfield Lowlands by the Legion of the Fallen, an undead army under the command of Necros, a paragon among Necromancers who sold his soul to the dark gods in exchange for unparalleled sorcerous aptitude. A young boy named Drake, the only survivor of the massacre, escapes into the forests of Duskwood and roams Ardon for years, seeking revenge against the undead. During an attack on his camp by Ogres, Drake is saved by the blind hermit Nomandi, who becomes Drake's mentor over the next few years. The first playable portion of the PlayStation version takes place in Stronghold following Drake's capture by Shamblers, the lowliest of the undead. Drake escapes Stronghold with the aid of Celestia, Lady Archon of Citadel, and is enlisted into the ranks of the valiant crusaders under her rule. Traveling to Corantha, city of the Dwarves, Drake enters an agreement with Prince Dain Stonefist against the Ironpick rebels who attack the city from within, exposing Dain's brother, Tor, as an agent for the Legion. Travelling to Duskwood, Drake retrieves the Coranthan Scepter of Regency from a band of Ogres with the aid of the insectoid Dashers and their leader, Tamris. Returning to Corantha, Drake discovers that Earth Elementals have awakened while both Dain and Tor have gone missing, with the Ironpicks continuing to battle the Stonefists. Drake navigates the deep mines and defeats the revenant of King Aiden, Dain's recently slain father raised through necromancy, thereby saving the Prince and gaining Corantha's favour against the undead. Returning to Citadel, Drake is then tasked with retrieving a talisman named the Star of Erathia from the northern Glaciers to aid in the war effort. After doing so, he returns to Duskwood to combat the Legion in the grub-infested tunnels below the forest floor, successfully destroying Necros' supply lines. With this victory in hand, he travels back to Stronghold, to aid Celestia's crusaders and the Dwarves in the final siege against the Legion's bastion. Upon his arrival, Drake encounters Celestia fleeing the battlefield, and finds the leader of the crusaders, Captain Ursan, missing. Nevertheless, while the crusaders fight on the front lines, he penetrates the walls of Stronghold, battling the Legion's armies. Drake finally comes face-to-face with Necros in Stronghold's depths, but the wily Necromancer departs through a portal, leaving the crusader to combat his lieutenants. Drake claims victory, and follows the Necromancer through the portal. Finding himself in Necros' floating battleship, Drake discovers Necros' forces docked at a massacred, Legion-occupied Citadel. Drake fights his way to Celestia's throne room, finding no sign of the Lady Archon. He then comes upon a hidden chamber filled with arcane, futuristic mechanisms, discovering an elevator leading to an outer-world location. There, he finds Necros standing before an enormous interdimensional portal - the Kreegan Gate. Necros claims that Celestia sought the power of the Kreegans just as much as he did, taunting Drake into doing battle. Instead of attacking the invincible Necromancer, Drake destroys the Gate itself, causing a rift in space. Drake targeted the outer pillars with Exploding Gems right where the bolts of electricity travel to the Kreegan Gate. Necros is drawn through the Gate's portal, screaming promises of revenge against Drake. Drake, triumphant, returns to Citadel, finding the crusaders victorious against the Legion. With Celestia still in hiding from Necros and her newly enlightened armies, Drake becomes the Lord Archon of Citadel, and the new leader of the crusaders. Numerous aspects of the storyline differ in the Windows version. Before reaching the Citadel, Drake must pass through the small village of Cador-Sûl, which is not present in the PlayStation version. Also, Prince Dain must be rescued from the Ironpicks before he can be spoken to, and Tor is not present. Two dungeon-like locations, the Catacombs and the fallen Starship, are accessible only in the Windows version. Ursan plays a larger role, Celestia does not flee Citadel and the final battle takes place on Necros' Battleship, with no mention of the Kreegan Gate. 

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The story concerns a soldier who deserts his regiment and encounters a wagon train of settlers. When finding an attack by American Indians is eminent, he returns to his unit in order to elicit help. 

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A couple (Henry and Garr) have gone out to dinner at a fancy restaurant the husband claims has the world's most absent-minded waiter. Martin plays a poor waiter. He has many mishaps, including pouring water before placing down the glasses, forcing the couple to repeat their order of "two martinis" three times, and subsequently bringing them six martinis. The film culminates with the wife becoming angry that she got dressed up, hired a babysitter and then was brought out to a restaurant with such amazingly bad service. The husband pleads with her: "Trust me... trust me." Immediately afterwards, the waiter returns with their "change"—$10,000 worth—before the couple had even paid. As they gleefully get up from their chairs to leave, the waiter comes back to ask, "Two for dinner?" to which the wife quickly responds, "Yes, two please," and the couple then sits right back down at their table.Letterboxd 

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Mandingo takes place in 1832 on the fictional plantation Falconhurst, located close to Tombigbee River near Benson, Alabama. Warren Maxwell is the elderly and infirm owner of Falconhurst and he lives there with his 19-year-old son, Hammond. Falconhurst is a slave-breeding plantation where slaves are encouraged to mate and produce children ("suckers"). Because of the nature of the plantation, the slaves are well fed, not overworked, and rarely punished in a brutal manner. However, the slaves are treated as animals to be utilized as the Maxwells wish. Warren Maxwell, for example, sleeps with his feet against a naked slave to drain his rheumatism. Although Hammond keeps a "bed-wench" for sexual satisfaction, his father wishes him to marry and produce a pure white heir. Hammond is skeptical and is not sexually attracted to white women. Despite his misgivings, he travels to his Cousin Beatrix's plantation, Crowfoot, and there meets his 16-year-old cousin, Blanche. He asks Blanche's father, Major Woodford, permission to marry her within four hours of meeting her. After receiving the Major's permission, Hammond and Charles Woodford, Blanche's brother, travel to the Coign plantation where Hammond purchases a "fightin' nigger", Ganymede (aka Mede), and a young, female slave named Ellen. Later, Hammond reveals his love for Ellen, despite his intentions to wed Blanche. Back at Falconhurst, Hammond and Warren mate Mede, a pure Mandingo slave, with Big Pearl, another Mandingo slave. It turns out that Mede and Big Pearl are brother and sister, but no one shows concern over the incestuous act. Charles and Hammond take Mede to a bar to fight with other slaves. Hammond plans to use his winnings to buy a diamond ring for Blanche. When it is Mede's turn to fight, he easily beats the other slave, Cudjo, in 20 seconds and neither man is seriously injured. Mede is clearly an extremely strong and powerful man. Hammond sets off with his "body nigger", Omega (Meg), to the Crowfoot plantation to wed Blanche. Once he arrives at Crowfoot, Hammond learns that Charles never returned to the plantation, taking with him $2,500 that Hammond loaned Major Woodford and the diamond ring for Blanche. Despite the confusion, the Major consents to let Blanche and Hammond marry. They do so that evening, with Dick Woodford (Blanche's brother, a preacher) performing the ceremony. On their wedding night, Hammond leaves his and Blanche's room in the middle of the night. Hammond believes that Blanche is not a virgin. Although she denies having previous sex partners, it turns out that Blanche lost her virginity to her brother, Charles, at age 13. She does not reveal this fact to Hammond. After a few months at Falconhurst, Blanche is bored and dissatisfied. She begins drinking heavily and is jealous of Hammond's continuing preference for his "bed wench", Ellen, who is now pregnant. Soon, Blanche is also pregnant. Hammond and Warren take Mede to another slave fight, where Mede is nearly beaten by a stronger slave, Topaz, but ends up killing Topaz by biting through his jugular vein. Later, Hammond travels again, this time to Natchez, Mississippi, to sell a coffle of slaves. When Blanche reveals her fear that Hammond will sleep around with "white whores", Hammond bluntly states, "White ladies make me puke."Onstott 1957, p. 475 While Hammond is away, Blanche calls Ellen to her room and whips her. Ellen miscarries and it is unclear whether her miscarriage is caused by the whipping. While in Mississippi, Hammond sells one of his male slaves to a German woman, who obviously wants the slave for sex. When the other men in the group explain this to Hammond, he is physically repulsed and denies that a white woman would ever willingly sleep with a black slave. Blanche has her baby, a girl, Sophy. Despite giving birth and Ellen's miscarriage, Blanche's jealousy of Ellen continues to grow. When Hammond travels to an estate auction and secretly takes Ellen along, Blanche becomes apoplectic. She orders Mede to come to her room and have sex with her. Before he leaves, she forcibly pierces Mede's ears with a pair of earrings Hammond gave her. This is a particularly poignant act of retaliation against Hammond because he bought an identical pair of earrings for Ellen. Blanche becomes pregnant again and doesn't know if the baby is Mede's or Hammond's. She realizes it is too late to accuse Mede of rape. In the final chapter of the book she gives birth and the child is dark- skinned and looks like Mede. Blanche's mother, visiting Falconhurst, kills the baby by crushing its skull. When Hammond finds out, he calmly asks the doctor for some poison, mixes it in a hot toddy, and gives it to Blanche, killing her. He then boils water in a giant kettle and forces Mede to get in. When Mede resists, he uses a pitchfork to stab the slave to death and then orders the other slaves to keep the fire going, thus turning Mede into a soup. He buries Blanche and pours Mede's remains onto her grave. The novel ends with Hammond and Warren discussing Hammond's plans to leave Falconhurst and forge a new life out west. 

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Shante Smith (Vivica A. Fox) is a woman who gives advice on how to keep a man in check. Her ideals are challenged when her man, an attorney, named Keith Fenton (Morris Chestnut), threatens to stray. Smith is a well- educated woman who feels that when it comes to men and their tricks, she knows them all. On the other end, Shante’s boyfriend Keith is being led by his friend Tony (Anthony Anderson), who thinks he knows all the tricks that women play. When Shanté's boyfriend, Keith, is caught red-handed stepping out with a co worker, Shanté institutes her "Ten Day Plan" to get her man in line.2001, Plot Summary for Two Can Play That Game. The Internet Movie Database, August 18, 2010, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0269341/plotsummary The battle soon begins, though at the conclusion of the movie, Shante and Keith get back together. 

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Years after the "known" events of the Robin Hood legend, Robin's daughter, Gwyn (Keira Knightley) has grown up to be a strong-willed young woman, with a talent for archery, much like her father. As Maid Marian has died and Robin Hood (Stuart Wilson) is perpetually away battling in the Crusades, Gwyn has lived much of her life alone. Her only friend is the sweet but plain Froderick (Del Synnott), who clearly is in love with her. Upon the death of King Richard the Lionheart, Robin returns to see that the proper man takes Richard's place as King of England. Robin is quickly foiled and imprisoned by his enemies, the Sheriff of Nottingham (Malcolm McDowell) and Prince John (Jonathan Hyde). It is then up to Gwyn to save the day. She must complete Robin's mission to find and protect the young Prince Philip (Stephen Moyer), who has just returned from exile in France to claim the throne – not an easy task since he has decided to forsake his true identity and is travelling anonymously under his valet's name (who died en route protecting his prince). Though she does fortuitously cross paths with the prince, she is not aware of his identity. With a romantic spark budding between them, they must find the Merry Men and join forces to free her father from the tortures of the Tower of London before the evil Prince John ascends to the throne and brings England to ruin. After freeing her father, Gwyn along with her father and Prince Philip stop the coronation of Prince John. When Philip is about to be crowned as king, Gwyn with a heavy heart tells him that she can only serve and work for him, and they cannot be together. Robin later explains that he stayed out of Gwyn's life to protect her from the life he leads, but it did not make any difference because she grew up to be just like him. He then proposes a partnership between the two of them to serve Philip, with the only condition being that she take her orders from him (Robin) alone. She agrees, and at the end they are seen together leading Robin's men, side by side. 

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Narrated from the perspective of a man burdened with deep remorse, pain, and his demons, the story concerns his decision to euthanize his terminally ill mother with painkillers. 

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